A freelance journalist who has regularly reported for BBC Arabic from Gaza, Samer Elzaenen, has been revealed as the author of numerous antisemitic social media posts, including calls to „burn” Jews as Hitler did, reports The Telegraph.
Elzaenen, 33, has featured on BBC Arabic more than a dozen times since the Hamas-led atrocities against Israel on 7 October 2023. His reporting included live broadcasts from the Nuseirat refugee camp in June 2024, following an Israeli hostage rescue operation.
It has now emerged that Elzaenen posted a series of violent and antisemitic statements on Facebook over the past decade. In July 2022, he wrote: „When things go awry for us, shoot the Jews, it fixes everything.” In an even more extreme post from May 2011, he threatened: „We shall burn you as Hitler did, but this time we won’t have a single one of you left.”
Elzaenen has repeatedly endorsed terrorist attacks against Jewish civilians, describing the perpetrators as „heroes” and their actions as „blessed” and „heroic”. Following a deadly car-ramming attack in Jerusalem in February 2023 that killed two young boys and a young man, Elzaenen callously commented that the victims „will soon go to hell.”
The Palestinian journalist also routinely refers to Hamas operatives involved in the 7 October massacres as „resistance fighters,” even in reference to the killings of young Israelis attending the Nova music festival.
In addition to Elzaenen, another BBC Arabic freelancer, Ahmed Qannan, has been exposed for glorifying terror attacks. Qannan reportedly celebrated the deaths of Israeli civilians and praised a Palestinian gunman who killed five people in Bnei Brak in 2022, describing him as a „hero.” In one Facebook comment responding to a call for violence against Israelis, he encouraged: „Don’t give up on your ambition.”
Although the BBC has stressed that Elzaenen and Qannan are freelance contributors and not official BBC staff members, media watchdogs have condemned the broadcaster’s use of such individuals. The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA UK) said:
“Freelancers who divulge such egregious bias should not be covering Israeli and Jewish affairs for the BBC. Any individual whose social media activity indicates their support for violence targeting Israel’s Jewish civilians lacks the basic journalistic skill of distinguishing between combatants and uninvolved bystanders.”
This scandal follows earlier revelations that other BBC Arabic contributors, including Ahmed Alagha, had made antisemitic comments online.
British Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has also weighed in, calling for „wholesale reform” of the BBC Arabic service. In a letter to BBC Director-General Tim Davie, she said:
“Instead, it seems that the World Service may be fomenting extremism and misleading audiences – while funded by the taxpayer and licence fees. This is simply unacceptable and must stop.”
The BBC responded by stating that international journalists are currently barred from entering Gaza, and therefore the broadcaster uses a range of eyewitnesses. A BBC spokesperson added:
„These are not BBC members of staff or part of the BBC’s reporting team. We were not aware of the individuals’ social media activity prior to hearing from them on air. We are absolutely clear that there is no place for antisemitism on our services.”
Nevertheless, critics have accused the BBC of negligence in vetting contributors, particularly given the severity and explicit nature of the antisemitic hatred displayed in Elzaenen’s and Qannan’s posts.
Photo Credit: CHP
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