Jewish right tries to whip up storm about BBC antisemitism


February 4, 2015
Sarah Benton

In this posting :
1) Ofcom: Statement to JfJfP postings;
2) youtube: The interview;
3) Jewish Chronicle: Board anger as Ofcom rejects complaints against Tim Willcox, rides into battle with BoD and Jewish Press – and of course CAA;
4) Tim Willcox: Apology on Twitter;
5) BoD: Board condemns Ofcom ruling over Willcox;
6) Jewish Press: UK Drops Probe of BBC Reporter’s Anti-Semitism at Paris Unity March ;



Ofcom statement to JfJfP postings

January 04,2015

“Ofcom carefully assessed complaints about alleged antisemitic comments made by Tim Willcox at a Paris rally and decided not to take the issue forward for further investigation.

“While the comments clearly had the potential to cause offence, Ofcom considered a range of factors, including the live nature of this coverage and the need for an appropriate degree of freedom of expression, especially in news coverage of such a significant event.”



The interview



Board anger as Ofcom rejects complaints against Tim Willcox

By Rosa Doherty, Jewish Chronicle
February 3, 2015

The Board of Deputies has condemned Ofcom’s decision not to uphold complaints against BBC reporter Tim Willcox over remarks he made to a Jewish woman.

Mr Willcox told the woman that “Palestinians suffer hugely at Jewish hands as well” during an interview following the terrorist attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris in which four Jews were murdered.

The broadcasting watchdog ruled that the comments was “justified by the context in which they were presented.”

Board vice president Jonathan Arkush said: “The objection to Willcox’s interview was his suggestion that French Jews could expect to be targeted by terrorists because of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

“Ofcom seem to have missed the point entirely. Ofcom also seem to have forgotten that Willcox himself admitted he had got it wrong and apologised.”

Jonathan Sacerdoti, director of communications for the Campaign Against Antisemitism, said “many, many people” had been offended by what Mr Willcox had said.

The BBC has launched its own investigation, which is expected to report later this month.



Apology on Twitter
Tim Willcox @BBCTimWillcox · Jan 12

Really sorry for any offence caused by a poorly phrased question in a live interview in Paris yesterday – it was entirely unintentional



Board condemns Ofcom ruling over Willcox

Media release, Board of Deputies of British Jews
February 03, 2015

Board vice president Jonathan Arkush has condemned the decision of Ofcom not to uphold complaints made against BBC reporter Tim Willcox over remarks he made to a Jewish woman.

In the interview, which took place at the recent Paris rally in solidarity with victims of terror, Mr Willcox spoke to a woman who was expressing the fears of French Jews. Mr Willcox told her: “Palestinians suffer hugely at Jewish hands as well”.

Ofcom ruled that the remarks were “justified by the context in which they were presented”.

However Mr Arkush said ““The objection to Willcox’s interview was his suggestion that French Jews could expect to be targeted by terrorists because of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Ofcom seem to have missed the point entirely. Ofcom also seem to have forgotten that Willcox himself admitted he had got it wrong and apologised.”

The BBC are conducting their own investigation into the comments made by Mr Willcox and expect an outcome by February 23.



UK Drops Probe of BBC Reporter’s Anti-Semitism at Paris Unity March

UK drops complaints against BBC reporter Tim Willcox over needling a French Jew at the Paris unity rally.

By Hana Levi Julian, Jewish Press
February 03, 2015

The Board of Deputies of British Jews has condemned a decision by ‘Ofcom’ not to uphold complaints made against BBC reporter Tim Willcox over remarks he made to a French Jewish woman in Paris.

Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the communications industries in Britain.

The incident took place at the unity march in Paris, held in solidarity with the victims of radical Islamist terror attacks in the city the previous week. The woman was expressing her fears about the rise of anti-Semitism throughout Europe and particularly in France. While speaking with Willcox during his interview at the event, the BBC reporter told the woman, “Palestinians suffer hugely at Jewish hands as well.”

Ofcom ruled the reporter’s remarks were “justified by the context in which they were presented.”

However, noted UK Board of Deputies of British Jews’ vice president Jonathan Arkush, “The objection to Willcox’s interview was his suggestion that French Jews could expect to be targeted by terrorists because of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Ofcom seem to have missed the point entirely. Ofcom also seem to have forgotten that Willcox himself admitted he had got it wrong and apologised.”

But a bigger problem was the fact that the complaints were dropped altogether, as noted in a statement on its Facebook page by Campaign Against Antisemitism UK, and the regulator refused to explain why the antisemitism was not investigated. This does not reflect a vow by UK Communications Secretary Eric Pickles to “censure” antisemitism in government institutions.

“Ofcom quietly dropped the 22 complaints you submitted… in a table listing complaints that had been assessed and then not investigated at the bottom of page 58 of Ofcom Bulletin 272, the regulator confirmed that it would not be looking into 22 complaints against a breach of “Generally accepted standards” by BBC News in a broadcast on 11th January. We contacted Ofcom and they confirmed that this relates to the Willcox interview but they refused to explain why they had decided not to investigate the complaints.”

The BBC, to its credit, is conducting its own investigation into the reporter’s comments and is expected to reach a conclusion by February 23.

Hana Levi Julian is a Middle East news analyst with a degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from Southern Connecticut State University. She is a past columnist with The Jewish Press and senior editor at Arutz 7.

© Copyright JFJFP 2024