The BBC said earlier this week the film “features important stories we think should be told – those of the experiences of children in Gaza” but that it would not be available on iPlayer while the broadcaster conducted “further due diligence with the production company”.
The letter, published in full on the Artists for Palestine UK website, continues: “As industry professionals who craft stories for the British public, including for the BBC, we condemn the weaponisation of a child’s identity and the racist insinuation that Palestinian narratives must be scrutinised through a lens of suspicion.
More than 500 UK-based media professionals, including broadcaster Gary Lineker and actor Miriam Margolyes, have condemned the BBC’s decision to remove a documentary about Gaza from iPlayer.
The letter reads: “This film is an essential piece of journalism, offering an all-too-rare perspective on the lived experiences of Palestinian children living in unimaginable circumstances, which amplifies voices so often silenced.”.
Last week, the corporation apologised after it emerged that the film’s child narrator is the son of Ayman Alyazouri, who has worked as Hamas’s deputy minister of agriculture.
