The BBC recently explicitly asked to interview Israeli military personnel who are “critical of Netanyahu” and Israel’s recent ground offensive against the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip, according to Orly Goldschmidt, spokeswoman for the Israeli Embassy in the United Kingdom.
She posted a screenshot of the message, accompanied by a caption condemning it.
“Today, my team received this remarkable message from a BBC producer,” Goldschmidt wrote. “They don’t want to interview someone knowledgeable, nor someone relevant, just someone who fits the predetermined narrative. There is nothing balanced or impartial about this.”
The message, which was sent via WhatsApp, stated the BBC presenter wished to interview an “Israeli military voice” that was “critical of Netanyahu and the ground offensive.” They cited examples of what the criticism could be, including “concern about remaining hostages, stretching IDF capacity, destruction of Gaza or any other reason.”
The screenshot blurred the names of the BBC producer, presenter and intended recipient.
“This explains why the BBC and several other major networks won’t have me on anymore,” wrote Jonathan Conricus, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces. “I’m not willing to trash Israeli decisions or do my dirty laundry to feed their hatred of Israel.”
“This is absolutely disgraceful,” wrote Aviva Klompas, former director of speechwriting at the Israeli Mission to the United Nations. “BBC World refuses to host impartial guests, choosing instead to platform only those who will echo their political narrative.”
Eylon Levy, the former spokesman for the State of Israel, had just one word for this exchange. “Wow.”
