EXCLUSIVE: the BBC scraps an interview with anti-Zionist Israeli lawyer due to ‘censorship’

Five weeks after being interviewed by the BBC, Israeli anti-Zionist lawyer Ben Marmarelli says he has been told the “public service broadcaster” will not be using any part of the interview.

BBC claim Marmarelli’s interview not used due to “reasons of duration”. The real reason is censorship.

Marmarelli is an outspoken critic of the Israeli occupation’s rape and torture of Palestinian political prisoners. The BBC were running a story about Palestinian prisoner abuse, and although they had testimonies from two Palestinian former prisoners they also wanted to speak with Marmarelli, so filmed an interview with him.

The BBC have now told Marmarelli they did not have enough time to use any of his interview, without forfeiting some of the testimony from the Palestinians. This is obviously not true. The BBC would not waste time with interviews if they did not intend to use them. They would also take timing into account while filming, and would be unlikely to make errors in this area:

I can’t believe it. But my main concern was that they would present a false image of what I said. I don’t trust the BBC, and I know they will edit any voice that’s for Palestine. That’s why I secretly recorded our interview.

The Canary is publishing the interview in full:

Marmarelli: “Western media is very much afraid of the Zionists”

In a recent interview with the Canary, Marmarelli described the systematic abuse of Palestinian political prisoners by the Israeli regime, and the threats faced by himself for speaking out. After posting a viral video on social media describing this abuse, in November, he had a string of interviews with public broadcasters and leading newspapers in France, the Netherlands, Italy, and the UK. More than a month later they are telling him they are still working on the interview, still editing.

Marmarelli says:

And the British cut my interview off completely! We can see how the Western media is very much afraid of the Zionists, and scared of publishing anything that wont be seen favourably by them. The Zionists have teams of lawyers, and lobby groups everywhere around the world, including the UK. They will attack the BBC on every story that is remotely not in favour of Israel, and will say the BBC is antisemitic.

In contrast to Western  media, Turkey’s Anadolu Ajansı, and Doha’s Al Jazeera, published their interview with Marmarelli almost immediately, so he knows this is a deliberate act of political censorship. Western media function as an extension of state power, protecting Israel from accountability while silencing those who expose its crimes. In his view, the refusal to publish his testimony reflects the deep entanglement of media institutions with the same governments, military interests, and economic systems that enable Israel’s abuses.

Western media’s complicity in ‘Israel’s’ crimes

He says:

Israel, along with the UK, Italy, France, the Netherlands- the EU- are all part of this global capitalist system of Western colonialism, imperialism and domination. This system is of course led by the US. All these countries buy weapons and have military connections with Israel. Israel’s crimes are British crimes as well, and Western media are accomplices in these Western crimes.

‘Israel’ consistently ranks within the top 10 largest arms exporters globally. In 2024, the Israeli occupation’s Defense Ministry made a record $15 bn on weapons exports. This figure is up 13% from the previous year. European countries were the largest purchasers. They accounting for almost 55% of sales in 2024 – up nearly 20% from 2023.

Marmarelli makes clear he told the BBC his thoughts about them, but they were still keen for an interview:

 I told them in advance I don’t like the BBC, because it is pro-genocide and pro-apartheid, and I don’t think they are a professional news organisation.

He argues the broadcaster is deliberately avoiding calling what is happening in Gaza a genocide. This goes against the consensus of all leading human rights organisations, and an independent UN Commission of Inquiry.

BBC’s pro-Israel bias

Everyone knows what Israel’s been doing for the past 26 months, it’s no secret. It’s a genocide, it’s apartheid, it’s colonialism. But the BBC are deliberately not calling it a genocide. They are biased in favour of Israel, even though Israel is the criminal, the one committing the genocide, and operating an apartheid regime.

An anonymous journalist from the BBC confirmed to Declassified UK that the use of the word genocide is effectively banned. They said “any contributor who uses this word is immediately shut down.”

Accusations of pro-Israel bias, anti-Palestinian racism, and censorship at the BBC are not new. But they have increased dramatically since October 7, 2023.

In 2025 120 journalists from the BBC, and more than 300 media industry figures anonymously signed a letter to the BBC’s director general. They accused the broadcaster of acting as a “mouthpiece for Israel” and whitewashing Israeli war crimes. The letter claims the editorial approach consistently favours Israeli occupation narratives. And content creators face censorship in the name of impartiality- even whilst a genocide is being committed.

Claims the BBC is systematically biased against Palestinians, is backed up a study from the Centre for Media Monitoring (CfMM). Their report, titled BBC on Gaza- Israel: One story double standards, analysed over 35,000 pieces of BBC content between October 7, 2023 and October 6, 2024.

BBC believes Israeli deaths worth 33 times more than those of Palestinians

Israeli deaths received 33 times more coverage per fatality in BBC online articles. This is despite a casualty ratio of around 34 Palestinian deaths to every 1 Israeli death during the study period.

CfMM also found emotive terms such as “massacre,” “murder,” and “atrocities” were used much more often for Israeli victims. For example, “murder” was used 220 times for Israeli deaths, compared to once for Palestinian deaths.

The report claimed the BBC interviewed more than double the number of Israelis on TV and radio, compared to Palestinians. Israeli perspectives were also shared 11 times more frequently by presenters than Palestinian ones.

There is also a lack of historical and legal context in BBC reporting on Israel- Palestine. CfMM found that only 0.5% of articles referenced Israel’s almost 60 year occupation, or its blockade, when reporting on the October 7 attacks, which were referenced in 40% of online coverage.

The BBC’s decision to drop Marmarelli’s interview without a credible explanation underscores the censorship he describes. At a time when evidence of abuse is widely documented, excluding an expert critical voice is less an issue of timing and more an act of editorial avoidance. Although Marmarelli’s testimony will circulate anyway, what lingers is further damage to the BBC’s credibility.

Featured image via the Canary