BBC staff urged by union to wear Palestinian flag colours and a keffiyeh

[question everything]

Jewish members of BBC staff have raised concerns after their colleagues were urged to dress in the colour of the Palestinian flag and wear a keffiyeh as part of a “workplace day of action” for Palestine. The event, which is scheduled for Thursday, has been organised by the umbrella union organisation the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to call for a permanent ceasefire, the cessation of violence in Gaza and the release of all hostages.

As part of its recommendations, the TUC has suggested participants could “wear something red, green, black or a Palestinian keffiyeh to visibly show solidarity” to their workplace.

(snip)

But the request has alarmed some Jewish staff at the BBC, who raised concerns that journalists who donned Palestinian-themed clothing risked compromising the broadcaster’s strict impartiality guidelines and upsetting some of their colleagues.

One journalist said that they were reconsidering their NUJ membership after the “hypocritical and antisemitic” action. “BBC journalists, who pride themselves on impartiality and who fought to keep their NUJ free of politics, are being encouraged to break the BBC’s editorial guidelines by supporting a political cause,” they added.


“It is also a shocking attack on Jews. Where is the day of action to support the journalists being killed by their own governments across the Middle East, including by Hamas? Where is the NUJ support for Russian journalists that are being held behind bars on trumped up charges by Putin’s regime, those dying or working in perilous conditions in Ukraine?”

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/media/article/bbc-staff-urged-to-wear-palestinian-flag-colours-and-a-keffiyeh-8qx3cjgwt

[SunSeeker]

1. "Where's the NUJ support for Russian journalists being held behind bars on trumped up charges by Putin's regime?"

Where indeed. But then again, Putin is not pushing for a "Workplace Day of Action" for that.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. Well, that's here:

Journalists working across the BBC and wider public service broadcasting have particular and important duties in relation to impartiality and working within specific workplace social media policies.

A meaningful and practical way NUJ members can show solidarity and support is through donations to the International Federation of Journalists’ Safety Fund – in the recent period NUJ members have donated generously to help journalists in Palestine, in Ukraine and also Afghanistan.

https://www.nuj.org.uk/resource/palestine-tuc-workplace-day-of-action.html

The call is by the TUC - the overall trades union organization, for all union members. The National Union of Journalists has both noted that public service broadcasters have impartiality duties, and suggested the fund, which includes supporting journalists in Ukraine too.

I can't see that anyone actually did call for BBC staff to take action; it's a general call, but noting that impartiality in certain areas, such as the BBC, should be observed.

The Times is, of course, a Murdoch paper, and takes every chance to stir up shit about the BBC.

[Prairie Gates]

5. Hyped up and exaggerated complaint

Thanks for the sane explanation of what really happened here.

[SunSeeker]

8. Your link does not even mention Russian journalists, let alone a "Workplace Day of Action" for them.

Ukraine is not Russia, despite what Russia says.

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. Full sentence in the OP was

"Where is the NUJ support for Russian journalists that are being held behind bars on trumped up charges by Putin’s regime, those dying or working in perilous conditions in Ukraine?"
You had truncated it, I assumed for reasons of space, but I assume you wanted the question in the OP addressed, not just your personal take.

And I pointed out the NUJ, in its press release about the day of action, addressed that. Google "NUJ", "Russia" and "journalists" and you will also find their support for those jailed by Putin.

https://www.google.com/search?q=%22nuj%22+%22russia%22+%22journalists%22

[SunSeeker]

11. Ok. I'm sure NUJ's "Workplace Day of Action" for jailed Russian journalists will happen any day now.

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. You should emigrate to the UK, and join a trade union, and then advocate for the precise political actions

that you demand. If you're not content with them feeling the same way you do about imprisoned Russian journalists, but feel it necessary to whine about the form their action takes.

[SunSeeker]

13. So I can't have an opinion ("whine"?) about the NUJ action without being a UK trade union member?

This is a discussion board. It's what we do here.

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. This exchange has, however, shown your accusation of Putin being behind the "Workplace Day of Action"

to be bullshit. So it has been quite productive.

[SunSeeker]

15. Russia fomenting pro-Palestinian protests in Europe has been going since pretty much October 2023.

https://www.icct.nl/publication/how-russia-uses-israel-gaza-crisis-its-disinformation-campaign-against-west

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. There's one sentence in that whole report about Russian actions in western or central Europe

"Moreover, reports that Russian networks may be responsible for the spread of anti-Semitic symbols across Paris have emerged."

That's it. Did you link to the wrong report? It's nearly all about how Putin portrays the West, and Ukraine, inside Russia.

Remember, you're trying to justify the accusation that the trade union movement in the UK is being manipulated by Russia. That kind of accusation has been going on for decades (the spirit of McCarthyism wasn't confined to the USA). It's bollocks.

[SunSeeker]

17. The whole report is about Russia propaganda methods in Europe on the Gaza war.

Last edited Sat Nov 30, 2024, 05:56 AM - Edit history (1)

And my point was that the Russian propaganda started immediately after the war began, as demonstrated by the date of that report.

There are plenty more reports about it since then, for example:

https://www.reuters.com/world/russias-putin-sees-political-economic-upside-israels-war-with-hamas-2023-11-17/

https://www.isdglobal.org/digital_dispatches/how-a-pro-kremlin-ad-campaign-used-the-israel-hamas-conflict-to-spread-propaganda-in-france-and-germany/

What's "bollocks" is a UK journalist union picking the instigator's side in a war instead of simply advocating for journalists. Parading around in front of their Jewish union members wearing keffiyehs and Palestinian flags is worse than bullocks. It amounts to anti-semitic harassment. But it is the kind of outrage one would expect in a Europe awash in Russian pro-Hamas propaganda.

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. You did give the wrong link, then

No, your first link was about what Russia tells its own population about the West and Ukraine. Check it.

Your ISD link is not "Russia is behind western public support for Gaza" either. It's "Russia uses the feelings about Gaza/Israel on all sides in the West to produce pro-Russian propaganda". So:

"Narrative 1: Weapons Supplied to Ukraine by the West are Being Used by Hamas" - this uses anti-Hamas sentiment to try and paint Ukraine bad.

"Narrative 2: Promoting Anti-American Sentiment" - this aims at both sides:

"However, the narratives shared by the ads often contradict themselves. For example, some ads accuse the US of being ‘responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians’ by supporting Israel, while others state that because the US is supporting both Ukraine and Israel, the US is not offering enough military support to Israel. Similarly, the US is accused of supporting both Hamas and Ukraine and therefore being responsible for both wars. "

"Narrative 3: Exacerbating Polarisation of Domestic Issues in France and Germany" - about immigration, and I don't think it has much to do with a side in Gaza/Israel

"Narrative 4: Criticisms of Aid and Military Support for Ukraine" - this is anti-Ukraine; sometimes saying aid ought to go to Gaza instead, sometimes saying Gaza aid should also be withdrawn. Again, a "both sides" approach.

"Ads claimed that ‘Ukrainians are thieves’ who are enriching themselves through theft and criminal activity, or that ‘aid provided to Ukraine disappears’ and should be provided to people in Gaza who are in greater need than Ukrainians. Other ads state that supporting both Ukraine and Gaza ‘brings nothing but financial ruin’ for France and Germany"

"Narrative 5: The War in Ukraine is Benefiting Arms Traders" - this is the only one where the Israel/Gaza line in the example is one-sided, just "American arms traders benefit from the war in Gaza", because no one thinks they're arming Hamas.

So we see that the Russian propaganda this looks at is not about changing the view on the Israel/Gaza conflict; it's about using the existing viewpoints on that, on both sides, to try and make anti-Ukraine points.

Your Reuters link, from a year ago, is about Russia's public stance - anti-Israel (and anti-US). It is not about propaganda efforts in the West.

You are just saying "I don't like the TUC's position, so I will assert, without evidence, that Putin orchestrates it".

You still really haven't understood the "Day of Action". It was not run by the National Union of Journalists, but by the Trades Union Congress, the overall union organization (the AFL-CIO is the American equivalent). The NUJ is a member of the TUC. The NUJ put out a press release saying the public service broadcasters (eg the BBC) have impartiality rules, so members should abide by those.

Palestinian flags and keffiyehs are, of course, Palestinian, not Hamas. A dozen times more Palestinian civilians has been killed in this conflict than Israeli civilians. Those civilians were not "the instigators". Those civilians are victims too, and supporting victims is not "anti-semitic".

[SunSeeker]

19. I gave you the right link for when the Russian Gaza propaganda started.

At this point, you're just ignoring what I'm saying, and what's in the articles that you disagree with.

The fact is, Hamas is the democratically elected government of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, so the flag of "Palestine" is the flag of Hamas, and the keffiyeh is what Hamas butchers wore to hide their faces as they slaughtered innocents on 10/7, instigating this war.

The union is not showing support for the innocent civilian victims of the Gaza war by waving the flag of the army that instigated that war and brought destruction to these victims. It sure as fuck doesn't represent support for the innocent Israeli civilians raped and slaughtered by Hamas on 10/7.

[brush]

2. Impartiality should be the watch word. I support solidarity with the Palestinina...

caught in the on-going war. Some other way to show that for journalists are the BBC should be found.

[Prairie Gates]

4. "could"

Next thing the Unionists in the US will be mad about people wearing green on St. Patrick's Day.

[Beastly Boy]

6. Greaat way to sow discord among union membership.

Whose brilliant idea was that?

I wonder how many of their union members would be wearing something white and blue and a yellow Star of David on their sleeve next Thursday.

[Abolishinist]

7. The event, which is scheduled for Thursday...

Just stay home, they shouldn't be working on Thanksgiving anyway!

(I know, I know).

[soandso]

9. Performative virtue signaling

and it's flat out wrong to put that kind of pressure on the members to conform a political position. They're adults who should be, if they so choose, putting pressure on their government which supports Israel.