Jewish members of BBC staff have raised concerns after their colleagues were urged to dress in the colour of the Palestinian flag and wear a keffiyeh as part of a “workplace day of action” for Palestine. The Times has the story.
The event, which is scheduled for today (Thursday 27th November), has been organised by the umbrella union organisation the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to call for a permanent ceasefire, the cessation of violence in Gaza and the release of all hostages.
The TUC has an estimated 5.5 million members in 48 trade unions which represent workers in a range of sectors including healthcare and education.
As part of its recommendations, the TUC has suggested participants could “wear something red, green, black or a Palestinian keffiyeh to visibly show solidarity” to their workplace.
The call to action was shared by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) with its members last week as it condemned the Israeli government’s attacks, which it said have led to the deaths of at least 135 Palestinian journalists since 7 October 2023.
“The NUJ is urging branches and chapels to show support on the day and amplify the union’s calls,” it said.
But the request has alarmed some Jewish staff at the BBC, who raised concerns that journalists who donned Palestinian-themed clothing risked compromising the broadcaster’s strict impartiality guidelines and upsetting some of their colleagues.
One journalist said that they were reconsidering their NUJ membership after the “hypocritical and antisemitic” action. “BBC journalists, who pride themselves on impartiality and who fought to keep their NUJ free of politics, are being encouraged to break the BBC’s editorial guidelines by supporting a political cause,” they added.
Another staffer added that they were “dreading the thought of walking past anyone protesting at work”.
Charlotte Henry, a freelance journalist who runs The Addition, a media and tech newsletter, said that she had quit the union over its stance. “It has become a hostile environment for Jews, and I can no longer be a part of that,” she said.
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