Latest news with #Gaza:HowtoSurviveaWarZone
South Wales Guardian
15-05-2025
- Politics
- South Wales Guardian
BBC boss says ‘follow the rules' after latest Lineker row
Lineker came under criticism on Tuesday after he shared, then deleted, a post on his Instagram account from the group, Palestine Lobby, illustrated with a picture of a rat, titled: 'Zionism explained in two minutes.' Rats, linked to disease and dirt, has been used to represent Jews in antisemitic propaganda throughout history, including by the Nazis in 1930s Germany. Lineker's agent told the BBC the presenter immediately deleted the post when he learned about the image's symbolism, which he had previously not appreciated. Mr Davie, after giving a wide-ranging speech, speaking of trust, disinformation and impartiality, was asked if Lineker had broken the BBC's rules. Mr Davie, speaking at The Lowry arts centre in Salford, said: 'The BBC's reputation is held by everyone and when someone makes a mistake, it costs us. 'And I think we absolutely need people to be the exemplars of BBC values and follow our social media policies, simple as that.' Charity, the Campaign Against Antisemitism has called for Lineker to be sacked. A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: 'Gary Lineker really has the worst luck when it comes to campaigning for his causes without aligning himself with extremists and antisemites. 'Not only does this video deliberately misrepresent Zionism — the belief that Jews have the same right to self-determination as everyone else — but it adds a rat emoji in doing so. 'Perhaps Mr Lineker is not as naive or accident prone as he might like us to believe. 'As the BBC's highest-paid presenter and owner of a major media enterprise, maybe he knows exactly what he's doing. 'We will be submitting a complaint to the BBC over this latest post. Having looked the other way until now, at this point, it is clear that Mr Lineker's continued association with the BBC is untenable. He must go.' Lineker was temporarily suspended from the BBC in March 2023 after an impartiality row over comments he made criticising the then-government's new asylum policy. And he was among 500 other high-profile figures who signed an open letter in February urging the BBC, to re-broadcast a documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone, to BBC iPlayer. The documentary was pulled from the BBC'S streaming service in February after it emerged its 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official. The corporation has apologised and admitted 'serious flaws' in the making of the film and the matter is still subject to an internal investigation. Last November Lineker announced he would be stepping down from presenting Match Of The Day, but will still host World Cup and FA Cup coverage. Lineker is the co-founder of Goalhanger Podcasts, makers of the popular The Rest is History series and its spin-offs about Politics, Football, Entertainment and Money. Lineker's agent has been contacted by PA Media for comment.
Leader Live
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Leader Live
BBC boss says ‘follow the rules' after latest Lineker row
Lineker came under criticism on Tuesday after he shared, then deleted, a post on his Instagram account from the group, Palestine Lobby, illustrated with a picture of a rat, titled: 'Zionism explained in two minutes.' Rats, linked to disease and dirt, has been used to represent Jews in antisemitic propaganda throughout history, including by the Nazis in 1930s Germany. Lineker's agent told the BBC the presenter immediately deleted the post when he learned about the image's symbolism, which he had previously not appreciated. Mr Davie, after giving a wide-ranging speech, speaking of trust, disinformation and impartiality, was asked if Lineker had broken the BBC's rules. Mr Davie, speaking at The Lowry arts centre in Salford, said: 'The BBC's reputation is held by everyone and when someone makes a mistake, it costs us. 'And I think we absolutely need people to be the exemplars of BBC values and follow our social media policies, simple as that.' Charity, the Campaign Against Antisemitism has called for Lineker to be sacked. A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: 'Gary Lineker really has the worst luck when it comes to campaigning for his causes without aligning himself with extremists and antisemites. 'Not only does this video deliberately misrepresent Zionism — the belief that Jews have the same right to self-determination as everyone else — but it adds a rat emoji in doing so. 'Perhaps Mr Lineker is not as naive or accident prone as he might like us to believe. 'As the BBC's highest-paid presenter and owner of a major media enterprise, maybe he knows exactly what he's doing. 'We will be submitting a complaint to the BBC over this latest post. Having looked the other way until now, at this point, it is clear that Mr Lineker's continued association with the BBC is untenable. He must go.' Lineker was temporarily suspended from the BBC in March 2023 after an impartiality row over comments he made criticising the then-government's new asylum policy. And he was among 500 other high-profile figures who signed an open letter in February urging the BBC, to re-broadcast a documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone, to BBC iPlayer. The documentary was pulled from the BBC'S streaming service in February after it emerged its 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official. The corporation has apologised and admitted 'serious flaws' in the making of the film and the matter is still subject to an internal investigation. Last November Lineker announced he would be stepping down from presenting Match Of The Day, but will still host World Cup and FA Cup coverage. Lineker is the co-founder of Goalhanger Podcasts, makers of the popular The Rest is History series and its spin-offs about Politics, Football, Entertainment and Money. Lineker's agent has been contacted by PA Media for comment.
South Wales Argus
14-05-2025
- Politics
- South Wales Argus
BBC boss says ‘follow the rules' after latest Lineker row
Lineker came under criticism on Tuesday after he shared, then deleted, a post on his Instagram account from the group, Palestine Lobby, illustrated with a picture of a rat, titled: 'Zionism explained in two minutes.' Rats, linked to disease and dirt, has been used to represent Jews in antisemitic propaganda throughout history, including by the Nazis in 1930s Germany. Lineker's agent told the BBC the presenter immediately deleted the post when he learned about the image's symbolism, which he had previously not appreciated. Mr Davie, after giving a wide-ranging speech, speaking of trust, disinformation and impartiality, was asked if Lineker had broken the BBC's rules. Mr Davie, speaking at The Lowry arts centre in Salford, said: 'The BBC's reputation is held by everyone and when someone makes a mistake, it costs us. 'And I think we absolutely need people to be the exemplars of BBC values and follow our social media policies, simple as that.' Charity, the Campaign Against Antisemitism has called for Lineker to be sacked. A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: 'Gary Lineker really has the worst luck when it comes to campaigning for his causes without aligning himself with extremists and antisemites. BBC director general Tim Davie addressed trust, disinformation and impartiality in a wide-ranging speech (Andrew Milligan PA) 'Not only does this video deliberately misrepresent Zionism — the belief that Jews have the same right to self-determination as everyone else — but it adds a rat emoji in doing so. 'Perhaps Mr Lineker is not as naive or accident prone as he might like us to believe. 'As the BBC's highest-paid presenter and owner of a major media enterprise, maybe he knows exactly what he's doing. 'We will be submitting a complaint to the BBC over this latest post. Having looked the other way until now, at this point, it is clear that Mr Lineker's continued association with the BBC is untenable. He must go.' Lineker was temporarily suspended from the BBC in March 2023 after an impartiality row over comments he made criticising the then-government's new asylum policy. And he was among 500 other high-profile figures who signed an open letter in February urging the BBC, to re-broadcast a documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone, to BBC iPlayer. The documentary was pulled from the BBC'S streaming service in February after it emerged its 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official. The corporation has apologised and admitted 'serious flaws' in the making of the film and the matter is still subject to an internal investigation. Last November Lineker announced he would be stepping down from presenting Match Of The Day, but will still host World Cup and FA Cup coverage. Lineker is the co-founder of Goalhanger Podcasts, makers of the popular The Rest is History series and its spin-offs about Politics, Football, Entertainment and Money. Lineker's agent has been contacted by PA Media for comment.
Evening Standard
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Evening Standard
Growing calls for BBC to sack Gary Lineker over 'antisemitic' social media post
Earlier this year, Lineker signed an open letter to the BBC, calling on it to reinstate a documentary called Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone which was pulled after it emerged that a boy who featured in the documentary was the son of a Hamas official.
Middle East Eye
15-03-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Royal Television Society reinstates award for Gaza journalists after backlash
The UK's Royal Television Society (RTS) has reinstated its award recognising the work of journalists in Gaza, reversing its earlier decision to cancel it last week. 'Following the decision to pause the presentation of the award, the RTS met this week as part of the Society's previously announced review process,' a spokesperson said on Friday in a statement via Deadline. 'The Society remains committed to recognising the work of Journalists in Gaza and will be making the Special Award. It is discussing how this will take place.' The spokesperson said 'it was felt strongly that there was potential at the ceremony on the night for the recent controversy around some Gaza coverage to overshadow the Award," referencing a documentary BBC pulled from its streaming platform. 'Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone', a documentary about children in Gaza, was removed from iPlayer in February after mounting pressure from pro-Israel activists over a featured child being the son of a Palestinian minister. Ministers, bureaucrats and civil servants in Gaza are appointed by Hamas, while in the West Bank they are appointed by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The cancellation of the award during the Television Journalism Awards in the UK last week sparked outrage in the UK, particularly among media staff. Nearly 400 journalists, including leading media personalities, signed a petition requesting a meeting with King Charles over the decision to drop the recognition award and demanded an explanation of the decision-making process. Signatories of the letter included Channel 4 News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy, television and radio presenter Sangita Myska and historian and former BBC current affairs presenter Jonathan Dimbleby, who called the RTS 'cowardly' for its decision. The RTS said it is now 'discussing how this will take place,' but welcoming the decision, the media workers say 'the charity's statement does little" to address the concerns. In a letter published by Artists for Palestine UK, UK Screen Industry criticised the RTS' recent statement for framing the decision to cancel the award simply as a 'pause,' and a "previously announced review process,' even though there was no mention of such a procedure earlier. 'In light of the organisation's apparent attempts to now reframe this shameful debacle, we stand by our demand for full answers to the questions raised in our letter of 11 March. We also ask: why did it take the RTS far longer to reinstate the award than it did to withdraw it?' the letter said.
