BBC editor Raffi Berg, a self-declared admirer of Mossad, is demanding a retraction from journalist Owen Jones over claims of pro-Israel bias.
Arguments were presented in a UK High Court defamation case where a BBC Middle East editor is taking legal action against a journalist. The suit concerns an article alleging the editor embedded “systematic Israeli propaganda” into the broadcaster’s reporting. Raffi Berg, known for his public commendation of Israel, is pursuing financial compensation from Owen Jones and a withdrawal of the article.
Berg has in the past stated he is an “admirer of the state of Israel.” In a 2020 statement, the editor said he had been “accepted into a circle of trust among the people who belonged to, [and] some of who still work for” Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. He also wrote a 2020 book called ‘Red Sea Spies: The True Story of Mossad’s Fake Diving Resort’.
During Friday’s hearing, the court considered arguments from both parties. Berg maintained that the 2024 piece, ‘The BBC’s Civil War Over Gaza’, “singled [him] out” and assailed his “journalistic integrity,” leading to an “onslaught of hatred, intimidation and threats.”
Jones’s lawyer argued in response that the article was “firmly focused on the BBC’s Gaza coverage for which Berg is responsible,” adding there was “no wider attack on his adherence to journalistic standards generally.”
Jones pledged a robust defense of his work after Berg initiated the lawsuit in November.
The disputed article, published on Drop Site News in December 2024, asserted the BBC was experiencing an “internal revolt over its reporting” on the war in Gaza. Quoting several unnamed current and former BBC staff, Jones claimed Berg “micromanages” coverage related to Israel, softening “everything that’s too critical” and that the editor is central to a broader BBC environment of “systematic Israeli propaganda.”
“Many of us have raised concerns that Raffi has the power to reframe every story, and we are ignored,” one BBC journalist was quoted by Jones as stating.
The BBC has supported its Middle East editor, with a spokesperson telling Jones his claims “fundamentally misdescribe this person’s role, and misunderstand the way the BBC works.”