Board conveys community concerns over Israel reporting to BBC at meeting with head of news

Board of Deputies President Jonathan Arkush raised “strong concerns” this week at a meeting with BBC’s Head of News James Harding. At the meeting on Monday, attended by Jonathan, Chief Executive Gillian Merron and International Relations Officer David Walsh, the Board delegation spoke of the misgivings in the Jewish community about the reporting of stories during the recent upsurge of violence in Israel. Jonathan said: “We raised strong concerns about misleading headlines in reports about attacks in Israel, the lack of reports about a large number of attacks and an almost total lack of reporting about incitement and corruption in the Palestinian Authority. We conveyed to Mr Harding fully and clearly the feeling within the Jewish community about these matters. The BBC said they were open to dialogue and we intend to pursue the conversation with the BBC on a regular basis.” At the meeting, the Board delegation recognised the role played by the BBC in national life and Jonathan, who is a trustee of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, thanked Mr Harding for the corporation's live broadcast on Holocaust Memorial Day. Last November, a Board delegation met a team from Sky News to discuss their coverage of Israel.