The BBC has been under constant attack all week from the Conservative Party, members of the government and the Prime Minister himself, Rishi Sunak, who accused the public body of lacking impartiality for describing Hamas members as “militants” rather than “terrorists”. . This Saturday, the doors of the public body’s London headquarters on Portland Street were covered in huge red paint stains. The group Palestine Action took responsibility for the vandalism on the social network: “If you support Israel’s war crimes, you have Palestinian blood on your hands.” The text ended with the hashtag #ShutBBCDown.
The patches of color were still clearly visible when, around midday, thousands of people gathered around the round Church of All Souls, directly in front of the BBC facade. The headquarters of the British radio and television station was the chosen starting point for the demonstration, which has gathered tens of thousands of people in the center of the British capital for Palestine and against the Israeli bombings in Gaza. From the church, the faithful reached Piccadilly Circus Square via Regent Street and Oxford Circus. Several teenagers waved Palestinian flags at the Eros statue in the center of this iconic London landmark.
More information
Shouts calling for the liberation of Palestine and an end to the bombings could be heard along the entire route. There was not a single sign of support for Hamas, at a demonstration where organizers wanted to have as little conflict as possible. The police presence was intense but fairly passive, except at times when some officers confiscated the fireworks and flares that several activists tried to light, or there were occasional confrontations between protesters and pedestrians walking into stores and walking in a very commercial neighborhood expressed support for Israel or condemnation of Hamas.
Socialists for Palestine, members of the minority Communist Party of the United Kingdom, even a representation of Neturei Karta, the ultra-Orthodox Jewish group opposed to Zionism and the existence of the State of Israel… An enormous and heterodox variety of mixed associations with the demonstrators, at most of whom were citizens without any affiliation.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews from Neturei Karta, the organization that opposes Zionism and the existence of the State of Israel, at the London demonstration this Saturday. NEIL HALL (EFE)
Join EL PAÍS to follow all the news and read without restrictions.
Subscribe to
These days, the Minister of the Interior Suella Braverman has sent the police some “recommendations” with complicated compliance and unclear content to prevent anti-Semitic protests after the cruel attacks by Hamas in Israel. Displaying the Palestinian flag is not prohibited, as some media had claimed, but it is noted that waving the Palestinian flag in certain contexts – for example, in front of buildings of Jewish communities or organizations – or accompanied by certain chants may be grounds for law enforcement to trade. A clearly delicate line, as the thousands of demonstrators who gathered in London this Saturday some chanted calling Israel a “terrorist state” or declaring: “From the river.” [Jordán] to the sea [Mediterráneo]”Palestine will be free.” A way to point out that Israel has an oversupply in this geographical area.
“We are tired of hearing only one side of the story on TV or from our politicians that ignores the suffering of our Palestinian brothers,” said Aaliyah, 16, who joined other friends from high school to take part in the demonstration to participate. Unlike her friends, Aaliyah didn’t wear a hijab, the veil that covers the head and neck, but instead showed off lush black, curly hair.
From the BBC Terrace
The BBC cameras showed a good panoramic view of the demonstration from the loft of their headquarters. In recent days, the public broadcaster has been carrying out intensive information work on the new outbreak of violence in the Middle East, which can be traced back to the atrocities committed by Hamas last Saturday. A total of 1,400 Israelis, most of them civilians and many of them children, were killed in one of the worst acts of violence Israel has suffered in recent decades.
The public body has come under attack from the government, Conservative MPs and Sunak himself for staying true to its editorial standards and not describing Hamas activists as “terrorists”. The BCC’s editorial guidelines make it clear that “the word ‘terrorist’ can be a hindrance rather than a help to understanding things” and the network strongly recommends avoiding its use: “We should try to avoid this term .” if we cannot attribute its use to a specific source. We have to let others characterize us [hechos o personas]. It is up to us to report the facts as we know them,” the company’s most recent internal document from 2005 said, clarifying an issue that keeps cropping up at critical moments.
However, the conservative government has decided to violently attack the public broadcaster. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps addressed BBC4 journalist Mishal Husain directly this Friday after accusing the public intelligence services of not being very interested in Hamas’s terrorist activities. “The BBC appears to be refusing to label them terrorists, despite the British Parliament passing a law defining them that way,” Shapps said.
Hamas was classified as a terrorist organization in the 2000 Terrorism Law, which detailed what these violent activities consisted of.
After describing how the BBC had reported on “the atrocities, the deaths, the injuries and the survivors” of last Saturday’s attacks, Husain challenged the minister: “How can you say we have no interest in these atrocities ?”
Shapps limited himself to acting as a battering ram in an attack supported by Sunak himself. “As the prime minister has repeatedly said, Hamas members are not militants. They are terrorists. It is the duty of our national broadcaster to recognize this fact,” a spokesman for the prime minister said hours earlier.
Follow all international information on Facebook and Xor in our weekly newsletter.
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits