Top Israeli official demands investigation into BBC as antisemitism ‘becomes normalised’ in Britain

She claimed the BBC had broadcast anti-Semitism, stating: "When you see a crowd of thousands of people, if not tens of thousands of people, chanting like useful idiots, death calls. I mean, how does anti Semitism became so normalised in the UK?"

Haskel's comments came after a BBC review found that a documentary about Gaza breached editorial guidelines on accuracy.

The BBC documentary "Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone" was pulled from iPlayer in February after it emerged the 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official.

A review published on Monday found the film breached editorial guidelines on accuracy by failing to disclose this connection. The review concluded that independent production company Hoyo Films bore most responsibility for the failure, though the BBC was criticised for not being "sufficiently proactive" with initial editorial checks.

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The corporation's director general Tim Davie apologised, saying the report "identifies a significant failing in relation to accuracy".

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the BBC had acknowledged "a series of catastrophic failures over recent weeks", though she stopped short of calling for resignations.

Haskel raised serious questions about payments made during the documentary's production, asking: "Who was paid £18,000 in cash? Because a child wouldn't hold them. It was paid to his parents. So was it paid to Hamas?"

She suggested there should be a criminal investigation if money was paid to a terrorist organisation member, stating: "And if it was paid to Hamas, a terrorist organisation, a member of a terrorist organisation, by the BBC, should there be a criminal investigation into it?"

The BBC review found that £795 was paid for the narrator, paid to his adult sister, which was deemed "not outside the range of what might be reasonable in the context". The review found no evidence that the narrator's father influenced the programme's content.

Haskel claimed the BBC had made more than 80 errors on its Arabic channel, arguing these were deliberate rather than accidental.

"We actually numbered on the BBC Arabic channel more than 80 mistakes," she said. "They're not mistakes, if those are 80 of them; someone must do it, either on purpose or have their own agenda to actually push through."

She argued that the BBC's international reach made these issues particularly damaging, stating: "The BBC is not just a British channel, but this is an international channel where people all around the world are watching, expecting accuracy."

Haskel said: "This has destroyed Israel's reputation."

The Campaign Against Antisemitism also criticised the BBC following the review's publication, calling its recommendations "frankly insulting".

Haskel shared a personal account highlighting the fear within Britain's Jewish community, revealing: "My own cousin's daughter was stabbed in the back with a needle during school just because she was Jewish."

She explained that her cousin had removed the child from public school due to safety concerns and was now home-schooling her. "This is the reality of many people in the Jewish community, where they feel unsafe and the lack of enforcement is terrible," Haskel said.

The deputy minister criticised what she described as insufficient action against anti-Semitism, stating: "There has to be a clear statement, there needs to be actions. There have been too many words, but too few actions."

She argued that "deterrence is a key point in fighting racism, in fighting violent attacks" and called for decisive, meaningful action.