BBC Senior Employee Fired Over Anti-Semitic Posts – Calls for BBC to Address Rising Concerns

A senior BBC employee, Dawn Queva, has been dismissed from her position after sharing deeply offensive and anti-Semitic posts on social media. The incident has intensified concerns among BBC workers who claim it is a ‘grim’ and ‘frightening’ time to be Jewish within the corporation.

Queva, a BBC scheduler and playout planner for BBC Three, faced severe backlash for her posts on Facebook, where she referred to the Holocaust as a ‘holohoax’ and used derogatory terms such as ‘AshkeNazis’ to describe Ashkenazi Jews, a group with roots in central or eastern Europe. One post even labeled Jewish people as an ‘invader colonizer species,’ reflecting a disturbing and hateful perspective.

The controversial messages also extended to other communities, with Queva allegedly describing white people as ‘barbaric’ and ‘bloodthirsty’ and using derogatory terms to refer to the UK. The offensive content prompted swift condemnation and calls for the BBC to take decisive action.

It is reported that Queva was dismissed on Friday, following internal investigations into her social media activities. Despite the seriousness of the allegations, Queva doubled down on her remarks, challenging her critics and stating, ‘come at me… my shoulders are broad.’

The incident has raised serious concerns among Jewish employees at the BBC, with one stating, ‘Jewish colleagues are finding it really tough seeing everyone but our bosses condemning what we have seen.’ Another emphasized the need for the BBC to take a stand against racism, asserting, ‘The BBC needs to take a lead on this and make it clear that racism is racism and it won’t be tolerated.’

Former BBC presenter Andrew Neil echoed these sentiments, stating that ex-colleagues had expressed how ‘grim’ and ‘frightening’ it currently is to be Jewish at the BBC. He questioned the leadership’s response, asking, ‘Where’s the director general and his army of BBC executives paid large salaries to get a grip of matters like this?’

The Campaign Against Antisemitism has also weighed in on the issue, calling the posts ‘utterly horrific’ and highlighting a recurring problem of inflammatory remarks concerning Jews within the BBC. The organization is filing complaints with the BBC and reporting the posts to the police, urging the BBC to confront anti-Semitism within its organization definitively.

In response to the controversy, a BBC spokesman stated, ‘The individual concerned is no longer employed by the BBC.’ However, the incident has ignited a broader conversation about the responsibility of media organizations to address internal instances of hate speech and discrimination, reinforcing the importance of fostering inclusive and respectful workplaces.

Anti-Semitic statements increased after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. First, the British BBC did not condemn the attack carried out by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Al-Quassam Brigades, PRC, PFLP, DFLP. Then, encouraged by the anti-Israel protests after Israel launched a military response, many people joined the anti-Jewish witch hunt sharing anti-semitic posts.