Ex-BBC reporter: I was dismissed because of 'pro-Israel censorship'

Tala Halawa's statement blaming her dismissal on "pro-Israel groups," has been seen by many as a deflection and excuse, rather than an apology.

JULY 16, 2021 07:48

A pedestrian walks past a BBC logo at Broadcasting House in central London

(photo credit: OLIVIA HARRIS/ REUTERS)

Former BBC News reporter Tala Halawa has claimed that she was dismissed from her position as a digital journalist in the BBC due to pressure from a "pro-Israel mob," after a tweet from 2014 in which she wrote "#Israel is more #Nazi than #Hitler! Oh, #Hitlerwasright #IDF go to hell," resurfaced on the internet in May of this year.

Although the tweet was posted almost three years before she started working for the BBC, a BBC spokesperson confirmed to The Spectator that they were "nevertheless taking this very seriously and are investigating,” the incident, which subsequently led to her dismissal from the organization in July.

Taking to Twitter to express her thoughts on her dismissal, Halawa said that "the offensive and ignorant words," she shared in 2014 "do not reflect [her] political views," and that she hopes that "those who were hurt by them will accept [her] heartfelt apology for posting without thinking."

However, Halawa then continued her written statement, blaming her dismissal on "external pro-Israel interest groups," and "pro-Israel censorship campaigns, and said that she had been dismissed due to the desire to "eliminate Palestinians from public life."

My statement on my dismissal from the BBC. pic.twitter.com/gWR6tNMfxO
— Tala Halawa (@HalawaTala) July 14, 2021

Many were quick to point out, however, that Halawa's statements from 2014 were not so much to do with Israel as they were outrightly antisemitic, given that she had said she believed Hitler to have been right. Her statement, blaming her dismissal on "pro-Israel groups," has been seen by many as a deflection and excuse, rather than an apology.

Media analyst for Honest Reporting, Emanuel Miller, responded to Halawa, saying that she downplayed her own antisemitism, portraying herself as the victim. He also said that he, like many others, wanted her to take responsibility for her former statements, rather than make excuses for them.

Hi Tala,I'm the writer whose work exposed your antisemitism to a global audience.I can understand anger when your people are under attack.When I was a student, I was near the site of an IED that detonated in Jerusalem in 2010. A student at my university was killed. https://t.co/5bkE8W0l0F
— (((Emanuel Miller))) (@emanumiller) July 14, 2021

British Jewish comedian David Baddie also commented on the Halawa's statement, saying that it was "not acceptable to add the word but, and then go on about the many mitigating circumstances and really the blame completely lies elsewhere."