BBC may be ‘complicit in Israeli war propaganda’ claims Beirut correspondent

A BBC Arabic journalist has said that a “growing body of evidence casts doubt on the official Israeli version” of the October 7 terror attack.

Rami Ruhayem, who is based in Beirut, claimed that many BBC journalists had “deep misgivings” about the broadcaster’s coverage.

In an email sent to BBC staff, including Tim Davie, the director-general, Ruhayem said he had identified “editorial failings” that “could raise the question of BBC complicity in Israeli war propaganda”.

The corporation was failing to interrogate Israeli claims about the atrocities, he claimed.

“I’ve seen evidence of bias in favour of Israel as well as evidence of a collapse in the application of basic standards and norms of journalism that seems aligned with Israel’s propaganda strategy. Such evidence has been pouring in for months at a dizzying pace,” he said.

As one example, he cited pro-Israeli guests stating on air that Jewish babies had been set on fire and shot in the head by Hamas, and that one terrorist cut open the belly of a pregnant woman and pulled out the foetus.

Such claims were unverified but “passed without challenge or inquiry”, Ruhayem said.

“From the start, it was evident that unverified claims of the most atrocious acts by Hamas fighters against Israelis were being circulated and repeated at the highest levels.

“Israel expected journalists to believe all the worst claims about Hamas, regardless of whether they’re backed by evidence.”

‘Proper scrutiny not applied’

By failing to apply proper scrutiny, Ruhayem said, “the effect over time is the merging of what propagandists for Israel say and what the BBC says about the events of October 7”.

In his email, which runs to thousands of words, Ruhayem concluded: “The most pressing question is this: why does the BBC seem to have steered away from the growing body of evidence that casts doubt on the official Israeli version of the events of October 7?”

In addition to Mr Davie, executives copied into the email included Deborah Turness, the chief executive of BBC News, and David Jordan, director of editorial policy and standards.

Ruhayem said that his note was a follow-up to another he sent in October.

According to The Times, Jewish staff were left outraged by the email, which was received by hundreds of staff at Radio 4, 5 Live, the BBC’s foreign language service and the BBC Asian Network.

Staff are reported to have lodged a formal complaint about his behaviour.

Ruhayem said in his email that he had taken part in BBC “listening sessions” set up for staff affected by the conflict. But he said the process “has amounted to little more than a short-lived venting exercise”.

Asked if any action was being taken against the journalist, a BBC spokesperson said: “Regular feedback and robust editorial discussions are central to our journalism at the BBC and essential for our commitment to impartiality.

“While we don’t comment on specific internal emails, we do expect our staff to use the appropriate routes.”