BBC rejects complaint about Bowen’s misrepresentation of ICJ ruling

Back in early December 2024 we documented an item aired on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today’ programme:

“Listeners to the December 5^th edition of BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today’ programme heard a conversation (from 2:38:01 here) between international editor Jeremy Bowen and presenter Nick Robinson which began as follow-up to a report about events in Syria but quickly transformed into obviously pre-coordinated promotion of a much criticised report released hours earlier by Amnesty International, without any information being provided to listeners concerning the relevant issue of that NGO’s anti-Israel record. [emphasis in italics in the original, emphasis in bold added]

Robinson [2:40:59]: “As you said, there’s a much bigger context to this – that the war in Gaza of course continues – and Israel’s critics, her enemies, have often used a word that she always rejects – her government always rejects – genocide. But there has been new support for that claim this morning.”

Bowen: “Yeah. Big Amnesty International report saying that there is clear evidence of genocide in Gaza. More simply than war crimes. Really, really powerful language used by them, saying that the evidence has piled up, eh…saying that…erm…that…that basically the Israelis are trying to destroy Palestinians as a group, treating them as sub-humans. Quote: ‘the international community’s seismic shameful failure for over a year to press Israel to end its atrocities by delaying calls for a ceasefire and continuing arms transfers will remain a stain on our collective conscience’. I have to say that of course Amnesty aren’t the only people saying this. There’s the process at the International Court of Justice, saying that there’s plausible evidence.”

The item continued with Bowen telling listeners that:

Bowen: “And among others, there’s a well-known Israeli historian called Amos Goldberg who’s actually the professor of Holocaust history at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and he’s said that what’s happened in Gaza does look like genocide. It’s a criminal over-reaction, he’s said over quite a few months and he said genocides don’t have to look like the Nazi Holocaust with death camps and so on.”

BBC’S BOWEN STILL PROMOTING ICJ DISINFORMATION AFTER CORRECTIONS

CAMERA UK submitted a complaint to the BBC concerning that item, noting the many previous corrections it had made concerning inaccurate presentation of that ICJ ruling and the fact that the BBC had previously corrected a similar claim by Bowen in a written report.

On December 15^th 2024 we were told that it would take more time to address our complaint. On January 5^th 2025, we were informed that the BBC had run out of time.

On March 26^th we received an email from BBC Complaints which includes the following:

“Thanks for contacting us about the edition of Today, broadcast on 5th December. We would like to start by apologising for our delayed response.

We have discussed your concerns with the senior editorial team at the programme. We would like to explain that Jeremy Bowen was not claiming that the ICJ had ruled there was “plausible evidence” of genocide in Gaza, but was making the point that the process, in terms of the case brought by South Africa, which Israel has denied, is still ongoing.

Jeremy is, of course, aware of the confusion that followed the publication of the ICJ’s interim judgement in January, stating that “In the Court’s view, the facts and circumstances… are sufficient to conclude that at least some of the rights claimed by South Africa and for which it is seeking protection are plausible.” Jeremy is also well aware of the later clarification from the then President of the ICJ, Joan Donoghue, that Palestinians had “plausible rights to protection from genocide”.

We hope the above clarifies what was said on the programme. And once again, sorry for our delay in responding.”

As we see, it took BBC Complaints no less than 109 days to come up with that pitiful spin on its international editor’s clear promotion of a politically motivated narrative concerning ‘genocide’.