UK: Celebrities Call on BBC to Restore Gaza Documentary that Humanizes Palestinian Children

London (Quds News Network)- British actors and TV personalities are among hundreds signing a petition calling for the BBC to restore a Gaza documentary that humanizes Palestinian children and has been pulled following pressure from anti-Palestinian activists.

BBC presenter Gary Lineker, as well as actors Ruth Negga, Juliet Stevenson and Miriam Margolyes, were among those demanding Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone be returned to BBC iPlayer.

Pro-Israel campaigners criticised the film after it was revealed that its 14-year-old narrator was the son of a Palestinian deputy agriculture minister.

Dr Ayman Alyazouri, Gaza’s deputy agriculture minister, appears to be a technocrat with a scientific background who previously worked for the United Arab Emirates government and studied at British universities.

The controversy escalated after it was revealed that the censorship was after Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely had intervened, pushing UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to pressure the BBC.

In a statement, the BBC defended its actions. “There have been continuing questions raised about the programme,” it said. “We are conducting further due diligence with the production company. The programme will not be available on iPlayer while this is taking place.”

The letter pointed out Alyazouri’s position as a civil servant and said the criticism of the documentary stemmed from “racist assumptions and weaponization of identity”.

“This broad-brush rhetoric assumes that Palestinians holding administrative roles are inherently complicit in violence – a racist trope that denies individuals their humanity and right to share their lived experiences,” it said.

It added that the attacks on the 14-year Abdullah Alyazouri disregarded “core safeguarding principles” and said that children must not be “held responsible for the actions of adults, and weaponizing family associations to discredit a child’s testimony is both unethical and dangerous”.

Initially, the BBC added a disclaimer at the beginning of the documentary following comments from pro-Israel researcher David Collier, who earlier this month claimed Palestinian identity was invented in the 20th century as a “weapon against Israel”.

Last week, a group of 45 prominent Jewish journalists and members of the media, including former BBC governor Ruth Deech, piled on pressure by sending a letter to the broadcaster demanding the film be removed from the iPlayer.

The letter referred to the minister as a “terrorist leader”. Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organisation in Britain.

Others defended the film. Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU), condemned the BBC’s decision. “This documentary humanized Palestinian children in Gaza, giving valuable insight into life in a warzone,” he said. He urged the BBC to conduct its review independently and reinstate the film.

On Thursday, the BBC said there had been “serious flaws” in “Gaza: How To Survive A War Zone,” made by an independent production company, and removed it from its online platform, days after it was first broadcast on television.

The BBC said in a press release that it had launched an immediate review into the “mistakes,” which it called “significant and damaging,” in the making of the program, which was produced by UK company Hoyo Films.

The broadcaster said that it shared the blame for the “unacceptable” flaws with the production company. “BBC News takes full responsibility for these and the impact that these have had on the Corporation’s reputation. We apologize,” it added.