Jacob Rees-Mogg has blasted the BBC after it claimed that a song condoning violence… did not condone violence.
Last week, the JC revealed that BBC Arabic, which has an audience of 36 million, had aired folksongs that glorified attacks on Jews and called for bloodshed.
One song, sung by musician Ashraf Sholi, was addressed to Palestinian militants and contained the lyrics: “Don’t leave your weapon in its sheath… From the Jerusalem mountains and from the plain, your blood, should it be shed on the earth, would make red freedom bloom.”
Before performing the song, Mr Sholi even explains he was singing it to energise the “resistance” and counter those who “lean towards a blind peace”.
Another BBC Arabic show, Dunyana, aired a song about a militant knocking on his mother’s door before an attack on civilians.
However, after missing the deadline for publication, a BBC spokesperson astonishingly said: “We don’t believe the [songs] condone violence.”
Jacob Rees-Mogg MP told the JC: “The BBC should never broadcast songs that encourage violence.
"It must ensure that this is never repeated. The BBC’s answer makes matters worse by ignoring the self-evident fact that the words encourage the spilling of blood.”
Lord Austin added: “The BBC is entering cloud-cuckoo land in its attempt to defend the indefensible. Only on Planet BBC could a song that explicitly condones violence be seen as a song of peace — and only where Jews are concerned.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “How the BBC could view this segment as not glorifying terrorist violence in pursuit of the destruction of the Jewish state is astonishing.”
In October, the BBC broadcast a song about a terrorist approaching his mother ahead of an attack. It aired on an Arabic version of Loose Women called Dunyana, or Our World. The guest presenter, Mira Sidawi, who sang the song as guests clapped along, was billed as being from “Palestine”, which contravenes BBC guidelines, as there is no such state.
A BBC presenter could be also seen nodding and filming Mr Sholi’s performance on his phone, which was broadcast on the BBC Xtra series to mark “Nakba Day” in May.
A BBC spokesperson said: “We don’t believe the Dunyana episode and a BBC Xtra programme condone violence. However, we accept that the Xtra presenter’s challenge to some of the guests’ statements should have been more robust.
"We also accept the social media post to promote Dunyana should have been clearer to avoid causing confusion.
“In previous episodes of Dunyana we described a contributor as being from ‘Palestine’ as opposed to being ‘Palestinian’, which is the preferred terminology in this context. The appropriate wording will be used in any further broadcasts.”
READ MORE: BBC broadcasts folksongs that glorify attacks on Jews
