London Diary: BBC sandwiched between Jewish and Palestinian pressure groups

Over the years, the BBC has faced the wrath of Britain’s influential Jewish lobby, which has accused it of a pro-Palestinian bias in its coverage of the Israel–Palestine conflict.

Recently it was forced to withdraw a documentary on the unbearable suffering of the people of Gaza caused by Israel’s invasion after it emerged that the film’s young narrator was related to a senior Hamas leader.

For a change, it is the Palestinians who are complaining that the BBC is giving Israeli casualties more prominence.

A report by by the Muslim Council of Britain’s Centre for Media Monitoring has claimed that it has given Israeli deaths up to ‘33 times more coverage than those of Palestinians’.

It also accuses the corporation of suppressing allegations of a ‘plausible genocide’ in Gaza and adopting a ‘systematic pattern’ of failing to properly report on Israeli actions.

‘BBC presenters actively shut down interviewees’ genocide claims—in over 100 documented instances—despite human rights organisations such as Amnesty International concluding that a genocide is taking place,’ the report said.

The report (‘BBC on Gaza–Israel: One Story, Double Standards’) which analysed over 32,000 broadcast segments and 3,800 online articles claims the BBC gave Israeli deaths 33 times more coverage across online articles and 19 times more on TV and radio, when measured on a per-fatality basis.

‘Across the BBC’s coverage, a clear dynamic has emerged: the marginalisation of Palestinian suffering and the amplification of Israeli narratives,’ it says.

A BBC spokeswoman said that it would consider the report despite “some questions” about the apparent reliance on AI to compile it.

“Throughout our impartial reporting on the conflict we have made clear the devastating human cost to civilians living in Gaza. We will continue to give careful thought to how we do this,” she said even as the BBC reiterated calls for Israel to grant journalists access to Gaza.

..and not just the BBC

The ruling Labour Party too is caught between warring Palestinian and Jewish groups with one accusing its government of complicity in Israel’s “genocidal” actions and the other of “anti-semitism”.

And, much of it is down to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s own shifting positions on the Gaza war.

First, it threw its full weight behind Israel’s post-October 7 retaliation, upholding its right to self-defence.

It continued to stick to this line even long after it became clear that Israel had crossed a line—until it suffered a huge Muslim backlash in last year’s general election, costing it more than half a dozen seats.

And then in an abrupt U-turn, the government suspended arms export licences to Israel for use in military operations in Gaza, holding it in breach of international humanitarian law.

Recently, it also sanctioned two far-right Israeli ministers—Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich—over “repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities” in the occupied West Bank.

Result: it’s now facing a backlash from the Jewish community even as Muslims continue to simmer with Labour MPs facing the heat.

Luke Charters, who represents York Outer constituency, has alleged that he has become a target for a group of pro-Palestinian activists who, he says, are using increasingly threatening methods, including throwing missiles at him and chanting “Labour, Labour, genocide”.

A group protesters also tried to block entry to his constituency surgery. They carried megaphones and posters accusing him of “genocide”.

How Bibi drove his Iran obsession

Former British foreign secretary William Hague has revealed that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu had been planning to bomb Iran’s nuclear programme for decades and stonewalled all attempts to find a diplomatic solution.

‘In 1998, I sat with Bibi Netanyahu in a London hotel as he explained the alarming details of the missiles being produced by Iran. He left no doubt, even 27 years ago, that he thought the twin nuclear and missile programmes of Israel’s sworn enemy could be dealt with only by force. Last week, a combination of circumstances... finally allowed him to launch the attack he has long planned,’ he wrote in The Times.

He also recalled how in 2013, a proposed nuclear deal with Iran (a precursor to the 2015 agreement) was opposed tooth and nail by Israel.

‘Every day, an Israeli minister would call me to ask that we refuse to do the deal. And every day, I explained why we disagreed,’ he said.

Although its efforts failed at the time, it ultimately prevailed on America to withdraw from the agreement.

Rest is history.

Mind your phone in London

London has emerged as the ‘phone theft capital’ of Europe amid a sharp rise in incidents of phone-related crime. And iPhones account for an overwhelming majority of the thefts.

Last year 80,000 devices were stolen in the capital, up from 64,000 in 2023, costing customers and insurance firms £50 million annually.

MPs have accused Apple and Google of ‘dragging their feet’ in fighting mobile phone theft for commercial gain. Both have denied this.

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And, finally, a joke about President Donald Trump: “If you asked President Trump to tell you what he thinks about fine china, he’d probably accuse you of siding with Beijing in his trade war.”