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BBC uses journalist who called for ‘Jews to be burned like Hitler did’… again

Patrick Sawer

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Samer Elzaenen wrote on Facebook in July 2022: ‘When things go awry for us, shoot the Jews, it fixes everything’

A journalist who called for Jews to be burned “as Hitler did” has been used by the BBC as an expert commentator on the Gaza conflict.

Samer Elzaenen, who has appeared on the BBC’s Arabic channel more than a dozen times since the conflict erupted following the Oct 7 Hamas attacks, was quoted extensively as he accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon against Palestinians.

After being contacted by The Telegraph, the BBC admitted that Mr Elzaenen should not have been used as an expert contributor.

It comes after The Telegraph revealed in April that Mr Elzaenen, 33, had been used to help report on the situation in Gaza, despite previously having issued a stream of social media posts that singled out Jews for condemnation and even appeared to call for violence against them.

In a Facebook post in July 2022, he stated: “When things go awry for us, shoot the Jews, it fixes everything.”

Mr Elzaenen has also appeared to call for a repeat of the Holocaust, stating on Facebook in May 2011: “My message to the Zionist Jews: We are going to take our land back, we love death for Allah’s sake the same way you love life. We shall burn you as Hitler did, but this time we won’t have a single one of you left.”

In response to the revelations, the BBC said at the time that it was “not aware” of Mr Elzaenen’s social media activity prior to him appearing on air, adding: “We are absolutely clear that there is no place for anti-Semitism on our services.”

But it can now be revealed that Mr Elzaenen was used again by the BBC despite concerns about his comments having been raised. This time he was cited as an eyewitness by Suzanna Goussous, a BBC Arabic reporter, to describe the hunger in Gaza, under the headline “Starvation as a ‘weapon of war’: What does it mean and when was it used in history?”

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Samer Elzaenen was quoted in a BBC Arabic report on hunger in Gaza Credit: Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu

In her report for BBC Arabic in July, Goussous quoted him at length, saying: “Journalist Samer Elzaenen tells me from Khan Yunis: ‘The situation is unbearable; the scenes of stampedes are harsher than the scenes of bombing. Women, children and the elderly risk their lives in a daily struggle for survival. Every time aid trucks enter, dozens of martyrs and injured are recorded, especially in the areas designated as distribution centres.’”

Goussous goes on to say: “He [Elzaenen] adds that this is a systematic, rather than random, policy, which brings to mind historical massacres where starvation was linked to the goals of ‘genocide and takeover’.”

Mr Elzaenen’s social media output over the past decade has included endorsements of more than 30 separate attacks against Jewish civilians in Israel. He has called the actions “blessed” and “heroic”, described the perpetrators as “heroes” and “martyrs” who “ascended” to “heaven” and appeared to express joy at the victims’ deaths.

Commenting on a February 2023 attack in which a Palestinian terrorist killed two boys, aged eight and six, and a 20-year-old man after ramming his car into a bus stop in Jerusalem, Mr Elzaenen said the victims “will soon go to hell”.

The Palestinian journalist has also repeatedly described the Hamas terrorists who carried out the Oct 7 attacks as “resistance fighters”.

BBC sources emphasised that Mr Elzaenen is not a member of staff.

But the broadcaster’s use of him as a freelance contributor has been condemned by media watchers, who accused BBC Arabic, which is part of the BBC World Service, of anti-Israel bias.

The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (Camera) – which unearthed the social media posts – claims that it is indicative of BBC Arabic’s willingness to use contributors who fail to deliver objective and balanced broadcasting.

‘Deeply alarming’

A Camera UK spokesman told The Telegraph: “Anyone who uses social media to repeatedly glorify violence against Israel’s Jewish civilians forfeits any claim to be an impartial observer of Israel-related affairs.

“When residents of Gaza embrace such hatred, they cannot be taken seriously as credible eyewitnesses – still less as ‘journalists’ entrusted to mediate reality for international audiences.

“The fact that the BBC knew of Elzaenen’s record yet chose to use him anyway is deeply alarming, and speaks volumes about the corporation’s own judgment and credibility.”

BBC Arabic’s output is set to form part of a thematic review of the corporation’s Middle East coverage by an independent expert.

Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative Party leader, called earlier this year for “wholesale reform” of BBC Arabic after a report by Camera accused it of “appalling anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias”.

‘Fomenting extremism’

In a letter to Tim Davie, the BBC’s director-general, Mrs Badenoch said: “BBC Arabic is intended to provide high-quality, trusted news for the ­hundreds of millions of people who speak Arabic. It should uphold the highest standards of public-service broadcasting.

“Instead, it seems that the World Service may be fomenting ­extremism and misleading audiences – while funded by the taxpayer and ­licence fees. This is simply unacceptable and must stop.”

Responding to questions from The Telegraph about his attitude to Jews, Mr Elzaenen said: “The posts you referred to date back to around 2011 and were quotations rather than personal statements. They were merely social media posts and do not reflect or represent my professional journalism. After reviewing them, I removed those posts entirely.

“Throughout my career, my journalism has always been conducted with full professionalism. Every report I produced for the BBC was broadcast exactly as it was, without distortion, fabrication or alteration.”

He added: “If I were not a professional journalist, and given that these statements date back to 2011, the BBC would not have hired me years later. If there had ever been any sign of unprofessionalism on my part, I would not have been employed by such a respected institution.”

A BBC spokesman said: “There is no place for anti-Semitism on our services. We strongly condemn the hateful views expressed by this individual in 2011. Although he is not a BBC journalist, and quoting him does not mean we endorse his views, we should not have used him in this way.”

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Additional reporting by Izzy Pearl

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