The BBC is facing fresh allegations of anti-Israel bias over language used as October 7 survivors ask the media to “respect their pain”. The broadcaster has issued an apology for referring to the October 7 attack as “escalations”. The wording was used in a BBC News staff email which was circulated to mark two years since the massacre. In the email, a picture of Palestinian women and children in Gaza was used instead of the Israeli victims of the Hamas attacks.
The message was sent by the BBC Audiences team which advises journalists on how to best tailor content to viewers by analysing audience data. The email said: “As we reach the two-year anniversary of the escalations in the Israel-Gaza conflict, we asked UK audiences what they want and need from news coverage moving forward.” In response to this, October 7 survivors have expressed their “pain” and “distress” in the latest accusation of BBC anti-Israel bias.
Natalie Sanandaji, a survivor of the October 7 Nova attack, told The Telegraph: “To make such a ‘mistake’ on October 7 of all days is painful for me to see as a survivor of the Nova festival. Once again, it feels the media is trying to downplay or erase what happened to us on October 7, what started this war: an attack on Israel by Hamas.
“I would have hoped that the media would respect our pain for just one day, the way they respect the pain of the people of Gaza all year round for the past two years.”
Adam Ma’anit, the cousin of Tsachi Idan who was taken hostage and murdered in captivity, said: “To use that language and framing is incendiary and insulting.
“That this report was circulated today of all days speaks to an institutional bias within the BBC that is shocking and distressing. Does our pain not count?”
Former director of BBC television, Danny Cohen, said the language used was “shocking but not surprising”, adding that it is an “example of the everyday, institutional bias at the BBC”.
He said the term “escalation” is “deeply offensive” and “is the kind of language Hamas might use”.
After a number of staff at the British broadcaster complained about the choice of words and imagery used in the email, the BBC apologised.
A spokesman for the broadcaster said: “This internal staff email should have been worded differently and we’re sorry for any offence caused. We are editing it and will replace the text on our intranet.”