- The BBC has pulled the series Gaza: How to Survive in a Warzone after it emerged that one of its narrators, a 14-year-old boy, is the son of Hamas' deputy agriculture minister.
- The signatories, including Gary Lineker, Ken Loach and Jasleen Kaur Sethi, called the documentary “a landmark work of journalism”.
LONDON: Hundreds of media representatives have called on the BBC to reinstate a documentary about children and women living in the Gaza Strip, condemning its removal as a blow to journalistic integrity.
In an open letter sent to the BBC on Wednesday, prominent figures including English sports commentator and former footballer Gary Lineker, film director Ken Loach and Game of Thrones actress Indira Varma criticised the network's decision to pull Gaza: How to Survive in a Warzone, calling it “an essential piece of journalism”.
The signatories to the document argued that the film offers “a rare glimpse into the Palestinian experience” and claimed that some of the criticism directed at it is rooted in “racist assumptions and the weaponization of identity.”
The BBC removed the documentary from its online platform iPlayer after it emerged that the narrator, 14-year-old Abdullah al-Yazuri, is the son of a Hamas official. The network said the film's producers had not disclosed the fact.
The decision followed a backlash from several Jewish journalists and media watchdogs who questioned whether the BBC had unknowingly paid a Hamas-linked individual and criticised the broadcaster for failing to meet commissioning standards. In response, the BBC withdrew the documentary pending a “due diligence” review.
The documentary, produced by independent company Hoyo Films, was based on nine months of filming in the run-up to last year's ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. It followed the lives of three children as they struggled with the war.
The letter, also signed by actors Khalid Abdallah, India Amarteifio, Miriam Margolyes, Ruth Negga and Juliet Stevenson, did not dispute the narrator's family's ties to Hamas, but claimed that his father, Dr. Ayman Al-Yazuri, served as Gaza's deputy minister of agriculture, “a government position related to food production.”
“Conflating such governance roles in Gaza with terrorism is factually incorrect and dehumanizing,” the letter said. “This broad rhetoric suggests that Palestinians who hold administrative positions are essentially complicit in violence – a racist trope that denies people their humanity and the right to share their lived experiences.”
The signatories also condemned the backlash against Abdullah, saying criticism of his involvement ignored “fundamental principles of protection.” They stressed that children “should not be held responsible for the actions of adults, and the use of family groups as a weapon to discredit a child’s testimony is both unethical and dangerous.”
Warning of the wider implications of the BBC's decision, the letter argues that the documentary's removal “sets a dangerous precedent”.
It also said: “As media professionals, we are extremely concerned about the interference of political actors, including foreign diplomats, and what this means for the future of broadcasting in this country.” “If every documentary film made in conflict zones was subject to this level of politicised scrutiny of its creators, filmmaking in these regions would become virtually impossible.”
