ne of 15 people killed by a Palestinian suicide bomber in 2001. The female terrorist who masterminded the attack, Ahlam Tamimi, was released from jail in a prisoner exchange in 2011 and went to live in Jordan, where she became a celebrated media personality.
Last year, BBC Arabic broadcast a fawning interview with the convicted terrorist. Incensed, Roth complained and won an apology from Jamie Angus, head of the World Service. Roth suspected, however, that this was not an aberration but a symptom of a rotten culture at the heart of the licence-fee-funded Arabic channel.
The investigation appears to confirm this view. In one key finding, it emerged that while BBC English reported on 34 fatal terror attacks on Israeli civilians between 2015 and 2020, the Arabic service covered just 25 of these, seriously downplaying Palestinian violence.
One effect of this, of course, is that Arab-speaking audiences are groomed to react with magnified outrage when Israel mounts a military response, having been blinded to the provocations that caused it.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. In addition, the channel has used Hamas-inspired language, such as calling Jerusalem the ‘occupied city’ and the army the ‘Israeli Occupation Forces’.
The situation isn't helped by, for instance, the employment of a journalist who had previously worked for Hezbollah in-house TV channel Al-Manar.
Across the Middle East, Arab countries are making peace with the Jewish state. So far, the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco have made the move, with others – including Saudi Arabia – strongly considering joining them. This has created a fresh atmosphere of cordiality in the region, with polls showing that Arab public opinion of Israel is beginning to thaw.
Many Arabic-language outlets, like Dubai-based Al Arabiya, are reflecting this new reality, properly informing the public of the historic change and allowing it to flourish. Sadly, it seems that the BBC – powered as it is by hard-earned cash from ordinary Britons – is standing in the way of this progress.
And using our money to do so.
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