The BBC has announced compulsory anti-discrimination training for all staff, beginning with modules on antisemitism and Islamophobia.
The network’s outgoing Director-General Tim Davie, wrote to staff, as quoted in British media, “The BBC is for everyone, and we are clear that everyone working here should feel they belong. As an organization we stand united against any form of discrimination, prejudice, or intolerance.”
Davie said the antisemitism module is available immediately, while the Islamophobia module will launch in February. Staff will have six months to complete the training, with new joiners required to finish within 28 days.
“I know that everyone will be committed to the training, ensuring the BBC is a role model as an inclusive and tolerant workplace,” he added.
The move follows mounting pressure after more than 200 Jewish staff, contractors, suppliers, and contributors accused the BBC Board of ignoring pleas for an investigation into alleged antisemitism. Their letter, “Being Jewish and working at the BBC,” described the corporation as no longer “a safe space to be Jewish.” A follow-up letter last month accused the Board of offering “words not action.”
The Board of Deputies of British Jews welcomed the training, noting a meeting with BBC Chair Samir Shah, Davie, and executives to discuss antisemitism, BBC Arabic, and Middle East coverage.
Board President Phil Rosenberg said, “Over the last 18 months, the Board of Deputies’ engagement with the BBC has focused on the urgent need for change in both culture and content at the Corporation. We have always said that a key component of the cultural change required is a proper understanding of contemporary antisemitism, provided by credible organisations.”
Danny Stone MBE, Chief Executive of the Antisemitism Policy Trust, said, “Against a backdrop of rising antisemitism in the UK and across the globe, staff at our national broadcaster must understand how to spot and tackle anti-Jewish racism and support colleagues who face it. This training will assist in that effort.”
Dr. Dave Rich MBE of the Community Security Trust added: “The BBC has faced serious challenges in its handling of antisemitism, but we have been encouraged by the open and collaborative way in which they have worked with CST, APT and their own Jewish staff to develop this important training.”
The BBC has continuously come under fire in recent years over its anti-Israel bias, which has reared its head even more since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
In November of 2023, the corporation published an apology after falsely claiming that IDF troops were targeting medical teams in battles in and around the Shifa Hospital in Gaza.
Before that, the BBC falsely accused Israel of being responsible for an explosion at a hospital in Gaza, which the IDF proved was caused by an Islamic Jihad rocket. The network later acknowledged that “it was false to speculate” on the explosion.
Earlier this year, the BBC faced mounting scrutiny for using the son of a senior Hamas official as a narrator in its documentary “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone.”
Following the criticism, the British broadcaster acknowledged that there were “serious flaws” in the program.
Davie announced his resignation last month after yet another controversy, this one over an edit of US President Donald Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021. He will remain in post until a successor is appointed.