Jewish Community of Lemmygrad

A group of more than 250 leading Jewish Britons — a number that is still growing — has written to BBC boss Tim Davie urging him to reject the ‘McCarthyite’ ‘cynical stunt’ of politically-coordinated complaints by the Israeli embassy and pro-Israel pressure groups that have seen the BBC delete its documentary on the suffering of Palestinians, especially the children and young people who make up half of Gaza’s population, during Israel’s genocide there — humanisation that is no doubt the driver for the coordinated pro-Israel outrage.

The group, which includes well-known names such as comedian and writer Alexei Sayle, actor Miriam Margolyes and film-maker Mike Leigh, has called on Davie to resist censorship and reject debunked smears against the children who appear in the documentary, which was made by one of the makers of the BBC’s Blue Planet series and an Emmy-winning independent film-maker.

Alexei Sayle said:

The film shows youngsters coping with death and destruction in a way that is both harrowing and hopeful. It is depressing that the BBC has been bullied into taking it off line. It should be restored for public view without delay.

The letter to Davie, signed by over 170 within just a few hours of the text being circulated, describes the complaint, by “strident” apologists for Israel’s crimes, as a “cynical stunt [intended] to prevent people viewing an account of the effect of Israel’s assault on Gaza on the people trying to live and stay alive there”, commends broadcasters for showing “details about the Israeli hostages and the tragic deaths of Shiri, Kfir and Ariel Bibas”, and points out that the people of Gaza must also be shown and seen “as full members of humanity deserving our attention and sympathy…The programme should be judged on its own merits and not be subjected to McCarthyite allegations of guilt by association.”

When it comes to the question of why Israelis don't really confront the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Weltman holds the media largely, although not solely, responsible. "Mainstream news outlets here are duplicitous when it comes to not presenting a complete picture," he asserts. "They make a conscious decision to omit facts, or to present them as scandalous or controversial."

He offers as an example the recent comments by former [...] defense minister Moshe Ya'alon who said that the military is currently engaged in ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza. "He was merely stating facts, facts that other right wing ministers admit are true," Weltmann argues, "and the entire media decided to present it as this huge scandal."

Which is not to say Israelis themselves are blameless. "Even if the media did show more of these images," Weltmann concedes, "I'm not so naive as to think the public would spontaneously change their minds overnight. We know that war causes people to move to the right and that would happen no matter what they saw on the news."

"But day in and day out," Weltman says, "the media beats the drums of war. They are not just reflecting this shift towards nationalism. They are contributing to it."

In terms of response to the campaign, Weltmann says that they've seen some calls among right-wing groups to confront the ad company who created the posters, but other than that no one has damaged the posters or tried to take them down. "As soon as we hung them up, we had lots of people reach out and tell us how important they think it is for these messages to get out there."

Related: In a Rare Break From Self-censorship, Israelis Got to Watch Gaza Horrors on Their Screens