BBC 'bans' Jewish journalists from joining antisemitism march, but pro-Palestine protests kosher

Jewish journalists working for BBC have been banned from attending an antisemitic march to be held on Sunday.

Senior managers have told journalists that if they work in news, current affairs, or factual journalism or are senior leaders, they should refrain from attending the antisemitic march planned in central London.

According to the Daily Mail, the journalists are now apprehensive that they might face disciplinary actions if they defy the orders.

Sources have said that senior managers at the British Broadcasting Corporation have told their Jewish reporters that the antisemitic march does not fall under the description of allowed events that are ‘commemorative or celebratory’.

The company has warned that anyone who attends the march would be considered ‘controversial’.

But pro-Palestinian marches are OK

Many of those who oppose the stance taken by the news organisation have questioned BBC‘s support for employees to attend pro-Palestinian marches.

“On the one hand, they are saying that they’re not impartial on racism and staff don’t need to be but for some reason that we do need to be impartial on anti-Semitism. We can only assume that where this racism is concerned, Jews don’t count,” one source told Daily Mail.

“I moved from feeling like it’s not a safe place for Jews to work to feeling like I owe it to my community to stay and do whatever little I can to insert some humanity into the organisation,” the source added.

The source further said, “Many people here have been to the pro-Palestine marches and are happy to talk about it at work. People here seem to think Zionists are evil. One colleague said I was OK because I wasn’t ‘a proper Zionist.”

What does BBC say?

A spokesperson of the news organisation said, “The BBC is clear that anti-Semitism is abhorrent. We have established guidance around marches, which explains that different considerations apply depending on what you do for the BBC.”

“The Editorial Guidelines sections on Impartiality and Conflicts of Interest make it clear that different considerations apply depending on what you do for the BBC,” the spokesperson added.

As per its guidelines, BBC allows its employees to attend some parades, marches or gatherings, including events such as trade union rallies under the company’s banner but not “represent the organisation as a whole.”