A cheer for the BBC
Your web editor writes
In an interview in the aftermath of the EHRC giving Labour a clean bill of health in its handling of antisemitism complaints, Ruth Smeeth (now Baroness Anderson) made extraordinary allegations about Jewish Voice for Labour which the interviewer allowed to pass unchallenged.
We wrote immediately to complain – as we have been forced to do quite often in recent months.
We are pleased to put on record that this time the BBC responded and has posted a correction on its Corrections and Clarifications webpage on 22nd February 2023 (reposted below).
It is at least a partial acknowledgment of wrongdoing in the interview a week earlier.
In that interview (you can find the relevant clip here) Smeeth said when asked if some Jewish Voice for Labour members “have become too frightened to attend Party meetings for fear of intimidation and abuse” that that was simply “Tough!”
Of JVL itself she had this to say:
- It is a minute, tiny organisation, a fringe group not worthy of comment;
- Much of their leadership has been expelled from the Labour Party because of their beliefs about other Jews;
- It have said appalling and abhorrent things;
- It made her life a misery when she was an MP;
- It indulges conspiracy theories and racism.
She also claimed that JVL thinks antisemitism was “overplayed” [that at least is right!]; “outline” (sic! – whatever this is supposed to mean) it as a smear; and attack other Jews…
Her views of our views on the scale of antisemitism in the Party is “fair comment” – if wrong-headed! That is Smeeth’s right. But some of her comments are quite simply unacceptable assertion and the interviewer, in our view, should have challenged her on them. This is particularly so with regard to her utterly unfounded assertions that we, as a Jewish organisation, have ever expressed hatred of Jews or supported any conspiracy theory or have “indulged” racism.
We wrote to the BBC taking up a few of these misrepresentations, making it quite clear that:
- we are not a tiny organisation (we have around 1,100 members, with a third being full Jewish members – and 24,000 followers on Twitter).
- We have of course never expressed any hatred of Jews or supported any conspiracy theory.
- Many of us and all our families have experienced terrifying antisemitism in living memory.
- None of our executive has been expelled for so-called antisemitism.
And we suggested – and reaffirm – that we should be interviewed on the same programme by the same interviewer who allowed us to be maligned in this appalling way.
The BBC “Correction” relates to some of these issues. It is not enough but it is a start.
This is not the first occasion on which our voice had not been heard (or has been suppressed) most notably in relation to the infamous Panorama programme is Labour Antisemitic? It is beyond time for this suppression to be lifted and the BBC recognition that it was not perfect on this occasion is a useful beginning.
See also
Our immediate response to the EHRC’s “Exoneration” The EHRC has spoken – Labour is no place for left wing Jews, 15th Feb 2023
Skwawkbox’s “BBC ‘corrects’ its failure to challenge yet another Anderson (Smeeth) smear against left-wing Jews”, 23rd Feb 2023
BBC Correction” posted on 22nd Feb 2023
BBC News Channel, BBC Two, 15 February 2023
In coverage of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) decision not to take further action against the Labour Party regarding its handling of antisemitism allegations, we discussed Labour’s handling of the issue with the Labour peer, Baroness Anderson.
She was asked about concerns expressed by the group Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), and its statement that: “In some Labour Party constituencies the situation has deteriorated to the point where Jews who do not support Israel or continue to support former Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, have become too frightened to attend party meetings for fear of intimidation or abuse.”
Baroness Anderson said that JVL has a tiny membership and that it had made her life a misery as an MP, before going onto question why members of an organisation ‘that is separate to Labour and thinks that antisemitism was overplayed’ would want to be in the Labour Party in the first place.
At this point the interview ended which meant that her points, particularly on the leadership of JVL and its views, were not directly challenged.
JVL has contacted us to make clear that its members have never expressed any hatred of Jews or supported any conspiracy theory and that none of its executive has been expelled from the Labour Party for antisemitism.
JVL says it is ‘alarmed’ that the EHRC considers Labour’s action plan on antisemitism to be satisfactorily delivered.
It says there has been a disproportionate targeting of its members for disciplinary action and that ‘Jews like us do not feel safe in Keir Starmer’s Labour Party’.
22/02/2023
Unfortunately it is the headline story which gets the attention, not the grudging apology, or half hearted correction in some rarely visited corner of the BBC website, or almost invisible little sentence or two, which appears weeks later, towards the back pages of the Jewish Chronicle.
Congratulations on achieving at least a small victory for fair reporting. It will have been hard won.
My experience (mainly over the BBC’s reporting of the badger cull) has been that the mistakes they acknowledge at any one time are repeated at nauseam at different times and on different parts of the BBC website. So I’m hoping JVL keep a record (outlet by outlet) of all the factually wrong and biased reporting and features put out by the main media.
It will be easier for JVL to prove a pattern of bias and factually wrong coverage, to get the wrongs put right and to win interview spots if JVL can prove to the BBC senior bosses and editorial staff that they are consistently in breach of their own organisation’s remit and professional standards. It will also help JVL if they can prove that other UK or international media of the same standing don’t perform as badly.
As is usually the case, a propaganda ‘point’ goes unchallenged- the (false) message is heard by a full audience. A hard-earned reply may be tendered to a far smaller, partial audience, who anyway have to search it out. Effectively, the message remains unchallenged.
Smeeth will be happy. The BBC will sleep easy.
Incredibly, on Facebook Groups such as Labour to Win and Labour Discussion Group there are denials that left wing Jews are being targeted, abused, or expelled, and that complaints are being ignored. It’s almost as if they think the case is overstated and the experiences exaggerated.
The EHRC must review its findings that all is now well, otherwise they are saying that despite a certain section of the Jewish community being abused by Labour there is no longer discrimination against Jewish people.
Indeed, as I found out in Stevenage, being guilty of being associated with ‘the wrong type of Jew’ is enough to be suspended, denied a hearing, and thus expelled by subs renewal being refused.
It’s time evidence of the abuse was published, in full, in public.
It’s clearly hopeless to hope that the BBC will play any tune other than that which directly or, in this case indirectly, acts to oppose socialists. That is always the purpose of ruling class ideology and hence the primary purpose of the BBC, too.
We should always point this out and not leave people to believe that it’s all about “straightforward” antisemitism.
I am less hopeful than Linda. Some time ago I made a complaint about accusations of antisemitism being mashed up with accusations of abusive behaviour, all laid at the door of Corbyn supporters without any evidence and without any challenge. In response the BBC complaints pen-pusher, instead of commenting on the specific complaint, asked if I thought this was part of a pattern. I said it was and was asked to supply dates of other examples. Of course I don’t listen to the Today programme with pen in hand but I was able to give an approximate date for an interview with Lord Levy which was supposed to focus on the difficulty the TIG’s would have in funding a new party. Obviously the interview took place within days of the TIG’s announcement that they were forming a party and would thus have been easy to track down by anybody interestyed in checking, but the pen-pusher simply said that if I didn’t know the exact time and date nothing could be done. End of complaints procedure (which consists of two stages: deflection and denial).
So I both applaud JVL’s insistence and entertain no hope of meaningful correction or apology.
It is good news. I agree with the comment above that these things are hidden from view, grudging and far outweighed by the prevailing narrative, which continues apace.
It would be interesting to know whether any correction would have been forthcoming prior to the EHRC “exoneration”. I trust not but, without a time machine, this is a difficult one to prove.
I was at a meeting recently with Husam Zomlot the Palestinian ambassador to the UK. One of the things he said is that when in discussions with the BBC, to do with items they had broadcast concerning conflicts in Palestine, they told him they get many complaints from the Israel lobby but very few from supporters of Palestine. He said it is therefore very important that supporters of Palestine make their views known to the BBC.
I think what Jack says is very telling.
More BBC contact from the “Israeli” faction than the “Palestinian” faction is verifiably true. Why? Not because they are right, obviously. Not because they are cleverer, obviously. So why?
It’s not rocket science, as they say!
It’s because, in this context, there is one group representing the interests of the ruling class, worldwide, with all the power, influence and organisation which comes with it, and one representing just themselves. Powerless and poor.
No prizes for knowing who is who!
A written correction is insufficient for repeatedly ignoring and broadcasting biased information and untruths about the JVL and the whole anti-semitism confection.
Thank you BBC for starting to show some balance . There are all sorts of Jewish people on many sides of many parties . It has been very worrying that you seem to allow the right wing of Labour Party freedom to say what they like with no questioning or challenging of their often false assertions ….. It has felt like you were part of the cancelling of left wing of Jewish Peoples ….. I hope that the situation in Israel under Netanyahu will be fairly reported too and that most people in Israel did not vote for him yet he is now trying to manipulate the legal system . The inevitable trouble now being stirred up by right wing Netanyahu and his coalition does not bode well for the Middle East .
I would like to see you interview the EHRC on their views of the ordinary Palestinian people and their suffering even more in their very difficult and oppressed lives … I would like to see you ask them if they consider ordinary hard working Palestinian families have the right not to be persecuted because of their race ? If they dont then would you please ask them why this is not racist . Also where do Palestinians rights figure in the EHRC ? If they dont then why not ?
Andrew, I think the only chance we’ve got of tackling BBC factual errors and bias is to address their top management (the non-executive directors, trustees?). As you rightly say (and has been my experience too), working through organisations’ complaints services doesn’t get you far.
If there’s to be any chance of convincing the BBC top management team their juniors aren’t abiding by the BBC’s professional standards, they have to be given “chapter and verse” evidence on how often they’ve failed and how much worse their organisation’s behaviour is than that of comparable media.
Gathering such evidence and finding BBC relevant influencers to present it to them is beyond the capacity of lone voices, I feel. Even a small organisation (such as JVL probably is) will struggle with the size of this task if it relies purely on its own resources.
I think the only approach that’ll work is if we can have a central body / coordinator / quality assurance checker into which we individually can feed the evidence we individually track down.
As I see it – we EITHER have enough time, energy and commitment to organise ourselves corporately and ensure our voices are heard; OR we should resign ourselves to being unheard.
Well done JVL once again for your excellent and necessary vigilance re the BBC. They are clearly a pro-establishment body and one with neither scruple nor its famous “balance” when forwarding lies like Smeeth’s . (I still feel disgusted about her lying accusation of anti-semitism against poor Marc Wadsworth ).
Frankl I am appalled with the level of ‘BBC Journalism’ and its interviewers, the level of ‘critical thinking’, their lack of preparation and knowledge of the subjects in hand, their reluctance?to question the validity/truth of the interviewee and the obvious bias on certain subjects. In particular, the BBC;’s general behaviour and commentary toward Jeremy Corbyn during the 2017/2019 elections was little more than government propaganda. Though the BBC’s reputation as an ‘independent’ public broadcaster has shrunk over the years, this particular episode destroyed any pretence of it being ‘unbiased’. It’s behaviour was frankly disgusting and failed it’s audience on so many levels and in doing so, destroyed what was left of any credibility that remained. Is it any wonder that more and more are turning to social media and other sources of information in order to find ‘some truth’ in reported news???
Excellent work of JVL in challenging the BBC
I can’t get past Ruth Smeeth’s account of JVL as a minute, tiny organisation a fringe group not worthy of comment. Unchallenged by the suspiciously laxed BBC interviewer, Smeeth nevertheless came across defensive but her thinking is outrageous! To claim that JVL is unworthy of comment because they’re ‘tiny’ in number, is not just wrong, but undemocratic. Is that what Labour is now? A party of the majority? With the majority viewpoint in British society being whatever our MSM and politicians, such as Smeeth, tell us it is?
How fast were the MSM to commemorate Labour coming out of EHRC special measures on antisemitism, having last year kept reportage of the Forde Report to the bare minimum! Are the public now to accept political voices like Smeeth as the template of “worthy” commentary? With no JVL representative invited on, here, the BBC seem to think so.
Fringe groups: Where would we all be without them! On the fringe means to be on the outer edge of something. It’s surely where so many new ideas, new ways of thinking come from; creativity, being the off-spring of old familiar ways brushing up against the new and strange. For as the PLP demonstrates all too well these days, imaginative, creative thinking does not best come from people of mostly the same race, class, social and political background, bashing a few ideas about in a boardroom.
In a surprisingly critical Guardian piece, Neal Lawson cautioned recently that Starmer would do well to listen to the left, but I think the Labour Leader’s ear is far too attuned to the right-wing of the party for that! For there is one minute, tiny group of people the Labour-right are clearly already listening to, and rather more keen to please – the rich and powerful. I doubt Smeeth would dismiss their expressed alarm at some LP news, as not being worthy of public comment.
Overall it’s hard to see this BBC News interview having enlightened anyone! On discussing Labour and antisemitism all political disagreement between Ruth Smeeth and JVL was not only obfuscated, on air, but had to be read between the lines, later, hidden away on the BBC Corrections page.
Ruth Smeeth appeared to be saying in the interview that JVL is not worthy of either her or the BBC’s comment: 1) because it is a ‘minute, tiny organization’, a ‘fringe group’, and 2), because it is indulging in conspiracy theories and racism i.e. ‘thinks antisemitism [in the Corbyn-era LP] was overplayed’ and ‘outlines it as a smear’.
That the BBC went along so passively with all this is profoundly worrying. They allowed her to define JVL’s size as ‘tiny’ (so as to say “insignificant”) without even asking for factual details to back up the image. They did not question the underlying assumption that the majority-held viewpoint is invariably superior to the minority-held viewpoint. Note-checking to see which viewpoint is the most popular, however, doesn’t seem to me a good substitute for either fact-checking, or debate. Rather it lends itself to the manipulation of the public in the cause of untested, and potentially fascistic, endeavours.
The BBC invited the viewer to just accept Smeeth’s assertion that her own viewpoint is the majority-held viewpoint amongst British Jews, and that, this being the case, JVL could, therefore, be safely dismissed from all our thoughts. The viewer was likewise invited to simply “understand” that Labour had a problem with antisemitism during the Corbyn-era, and that anyone who says otherwise is very likely anti-Semitic – even if they are Jewish.
Despite analysis of the facts & figures being the obvious countermeasure to the conspiracy theories Smeeth declared JVL to be indulging in, neither she, nor the BBC, sought to provide them. There was, for example, no explanation as how it is that Labour’s Corbyn-era 0.1% levels of antisemitism being lower than the UK’s 2.4% levels in 2017 (LP stats/JPR), adds up to Labour, but not the UK, having had “a problem” with antisemitism. Why didn’t they note-check to see how Corbyn-led Labour’s ‘small number’ of antisemitism cases (Angela Rayner, BBC Newsnight, 29 Oct 2020) compared with the number of antisemitism cases in the Conservative Party? Or else make the observation that the EHRC never did say what Labour’s antisemitism levels actually were. Or explain how the Corbyn-led LP can be understood to have had a problem with antisemitism if, as a Parliamentary Home Affairs Committee noted in 2016, ‘there exists no reliable, empirical evidence to support the notion that there is a higher prevalence of anti-Semitic attitudes within the Labour Party than any other political party.’ And, finally, why was the Forde Report’s – clearly relevant – statement that ‘some opponents of Jeremy Corbyn saw the issue of antisemitism as a means of attacking him’, not referred to? No time was taken in this interview to address a range of evidence that positively invites the thought that there was, or might well have been, a smear campaign against Corbyn and the socialist, anti-colonialist left. Instead, both the BBC and Smeeth seemed content to discuss the pro-Corbyn, pro-Palestinian group, JVL, briefly in passing, as though it were mere phenomena, an unpleasantness best avoided, rather than a badly needed, absentee voice.
Relegating that voice to its Corrections and Clarifications webpage is a disgrace.