That is deeply, deeply hurtful because actually, none of us struggle to empathise with Palestinian civilians.” “For me, and definitely for other people of colour, we can see blatantly that certain civilian lives are considered more worthy than others – that there is some sort of hierarchy at play. “This organisation doesn’t represent us,” one of the co-writers told Al Jazeera. Some of those behind the letter are people of colour. For many, this feels too little too late, and shows that the positions taken by governments in the UK and US have undue influence on coverage.”Īl Jazeera interviewed two of the eight co-writers. “It is largely in the last few weeks – as civilian deaths have exponentially increased and Western countries’ appetite for Israel’s attacks has waned – that the BBC has made more effort to humanise Palestinian civilians. The journalists acknowledged “some strong isolated examples”, but said sensitively told stories about Palestinians were not “consistent”, particularly after the outbreak of war. Little attempt has also been made to fully utilise the abundance of social media content from brave journalists in Gaza and the West Bank.” It is a poor excuse to say that the BBC could not better cover stories in Gaza because of difficulties gaining access to the Strip … This is achieved, for example, by telling and following individual stories across weeks. “In comparison, humanising coverage of Palestinian civilians has been lacking. They claimed that the broadcaster carefully portrays Israeli suffering by, for instance, telling audiences the names of victims, covering individual funerals, and interviewing affected families. The journalists appealed to the corporation to “ensure that the equal treatment of all civilians is at the heart of its coverage”. “We are asking the BBC to better reflect and defer to the evidence-based findings of official and unbiased humanitarian organisations.” ‘Humanising coverage of Palestinian civilians has been lacking’ ![]() The Hamas assault, while “appalling and devastating … does not justify the indiscriminate killing of thousands of Palestinian civilians, and the BBC cannot be seen to support – or fail to interrogate – the logic that it does,” their letter reads. This is inaccurate but aligns with the BBC’s overall coverage”. The BBC journalists said that across British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) platforms, terms like “massacre” and “atrocity”, have been reserved “only for Hamas, framing the group as the only instigator and perpetrator of violence in the region. The war has also divided newsrooms globally, with disagreements over how each side is being portrayed, the allegedly unequal level of empathy shown to Israeli and Palestinian victims, and the use of language. ![]() Rights groups and hundreds of thousands of protesters worldwide, outraged by the soaring Palestinian death toll in Gaza, have called for a ceasefire. Israel declared war against Hamas after the Palestinian group, which governs the densely populated enclave, attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 Israelis and taking more than 200 hostage. When will the number be high enough for our editorial stance to change?” “Thousands of Palestinians have been killed since October 7. “The BBC has failed to accurately tell this story – through omission and lack of critical engagement with Israel’s claims – and it has therefore failed to help the public engage with and understand the human rights abuses unfolding in Gaza,” the letter reads. At the time of writing, more than 14,500 Palestinians have been reported as killed by Israeli bombardment, including at least 6,000 children. They sent Al Jazeera the letter as a humanitarian disaster in Gaza escalates, and as grim milestones are reached at pace. The group does not plan to send the letter to BBC executives, believing such a move was unlikely to lead to meaningful discussions. ![]() Keep reading list of 4 items list 1 of 4 Israeli strike kills three journalists near Lebanon border list 2 of 4 How deadly is the Israel-Gaza war for journalists? list 3 of 4 Al Jazeera condemns killing of journalist Wael Al-Dahdouh’s family in Gaza list 4 of 4 Palestinian journalist Mohammad Abu Hasira killed in Israeli strike on Gaza end of listįearing reprisal, the journalists requested anonymity.
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