The BBC has apologized after a guest on one of its news programs compared Hamas terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians to Jews who rose up against the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto in the spring of 1943.
Refaat Alareer, a lecturer at Gaza’s Islamic University, said on the BBC that Hamas acted in a “legitimate and moral” manner.
“This is exactly like the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. This is the Gaza ghetto uprising against 100 years of European and Zionist colonialism and occupation,” Alareer said.
Alareer, identified on-screen as a “Palestinian educator,” also referred to the terrorist attacks as “Palestinian resistance.”
In 2018, Alareer wrote that most Jews are evil, according to a post that the media watchdog CAMERA has documented, and referred to Zionists as “the most despicable filth.”
He has also claimed that “all supporters of Israel would be cheering for the Nazis in the ’30s and ’40s,” and that “Israel is the root cause of evil,” per CAMERA.
The BBC has since told a British newspaper that the interview with Alareer should not have been aired. “While an interviewee, who made comments on the Warsaw Ghetto, was robustly challenged on air, we agree his comments were offensive and we don’t intend to use him again,” the British national broadcaster said.
That admission came amid ongoing criticism of the BBC’s policy not to refer to Hamas as “terrorists.” Instead, the BBC style guide calls for Hamas “militants,” “attackers” or “gunmen” in an effort to avoid what it calls “emotive” language.
The UK government proscribes Hamas as a terrorist organization.
