The BBC has been forced into an apology after its coverage of Holocaust Memorial Day omitted the word ‘Jews’.
The corporation appeared to be avoiding the term as it marked the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on Tuesday, with at least four BBC News presenters opting to say six million ‘people’ died in the World War Two genocide.
Videos starting circulating on social media showing TV packages dedicated to the day – which remembers Jews and others who suffered under Nazi persecution – starting off with the controversial choice of phrase.
In one, anchor Martine Croxall begins by saying: ‘Today marks Holocaust Memorial Day. A day for remembering the six million people who were murdered by the Nazi regime over 80 years ago.’
BBC World News presenter Matthew Amroliwala and Breakfast host Jon Kay introduced bulletins on their shows with the same line.
The word ‘Jews’ was also omitted from the BBC Radio 4 report on Holocaust Memorial Day.
The phrasing was swiftly criticised by sections of the Jewish community, who described the decision as ‘hurtful, disrespectful and wrong’.
When asked by the Daily Mail about the move to replace ‘Jews’ with ‘people’ during key sections of their reporting, the BBC immediately apologised.
The BBC has apologised after its coverage of Holocaust Memorial Day omitted the word ‘Jews’, including during BBC World News presenter Matthew Amroliwala’s report, pictured
In one clip, anchor Martine Croxall says: ‘Today marks Holocaust Memorial Day. A day for remembering the six million people who were murdered by the Nazi regime over 80 years ago’
BBC Breakfast host Jon Kay, pictured left, introduced the bulletin on the show with the same line, provoking outrage
A spokesperson said: ‘In the news bulletins on Today and in the introduction to the story on BBC Breakfast there were references to Holocaust Memorial Day which were incorrectly worded, and for which we apologise.
‘Both should have referred to “six million Jewish people” and we will be issuing a correction on our website.’
Holocaust Memorial Day takes place every year on January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland.
The BBC added: ‘This morning’s BBC programming commemorated Holocaust Memorial Day. The Today programme featured interviews with relatives of Holocaust survivors, and a report from our Religion Editor.
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‘In both of these items we referenced the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust. The Chief Rabbi recorded the Thought for the Day.
‘BBC Breakfast featured a project organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust in which a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust recorded her memories.’
Key figures in the Jewish community swiftly condemned the BBC’s script in the hours after these shows went to air, blasting the phrasing as ‘unacceptable’.
Karen Pollock CBE, Chief Executive, Holocaust Educational Trust, said: ‘The Holocaust was the murder of six million Jewish men, women and children.
‘Ignoring that the victims were Jews, widening the figure to include all victims of the Second World War, or attempting to draw in contemporary conflicts, is an abuse of the memory of the Holocaust and an insult to victims and survivors.
It comes after outgoing BBC director-general Tim Davie in December ordered all staff to complete a training course on antisemitism
‘Any attempt to dilute the Holocaust, strip it of its Jewish specificity, or compare it to contemporary events is unacceptable on any day. On Holocaust Memorial Day, it is especially hurtful, disrespectful and wrong.’
Danny Cohen, former BBC Director of Television, added: ‘A failure like this on Holocaust Memorial Day marks a new low point for the national broadcaster.
‘It is surely the bare minimum to expect the BBC to correctly identify that it was six million Jews killed during the Holocaust. To say anything else is an insult to their memory and plays into the hands of extremists who have desperately sought to rewrite the historical truth of history’s greatest crime.
‘This will be very painful to many in the Jewish community and will reinforce their view that the BBC is insensitive to the concerns of British Jews.’
And Lord Pickles, co-chair of UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation, former UK Special Envoy for post-Holocaust Issues and former chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, said: ‘This is an unambiguous example of Holocaust distortion, which is a form of denial.
‘This kind of obfuscation was common during the Soviet control of parts of Europe. For the BBC to use it today is shocking.
‘They should be fighting Antisemitism, not aiding it.’
It comes after outgoing BBC director-general Tim Davie in December ordered all staff to complete a training course on antisemitism.
King Charles and Queen Camilla lit candles during a reception at Buckingham Palace in London to mark Holocaust Memorial Day on Tuesday
Staff have six months to complete the course as Mr Davie hopes to stamp out ‘discrimination, prejudice, and intolerance’ at the corporation.
The move was welcomed by the Board of Deputies and leading Jewish figures.
A few weeks prior, more than 200 Jewish staff, contractors, suppliers and contributors accused the corporation’s Board of ‘ignoring’ their pleas for an investigation into alleged anti-Semitism at the national broadcaster.
Writing to staff, Mr Davie, 58, said: ‘The BBC is for everyone, and we are clear that everyone working here should feel they belong.
‘As an organisation we stand united against any form of discrimination, prejudice, or intolerance.
‘In response to this, the BBC Academy has spent the last few months developing new anti-discrimination training.
‘We’re starting with e-learning modules on antisemitism and Islamophobia, which we expect staff across the BBC to complete.
‘The module on antisemitism is available from today, while the Islamophobia module is just being finalised, to launch in February.
Charles greeted Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, the last remaining survivor of the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz, with a handshake
‘I know that everyone will be committed to the training, ensuring the BBC is a role model as an inclusive and tolerant workplace.’
The Board of Deputies of British Jews welcomed the announcement of the new compulsory training course for all staff and revealed they held a meeting with BBC Chair Samir Shah, Mr Davie and other BBC executives, which addressed antisemitism training, concerns relating to BBC Arabic, and wider Middle East coverage.
Earlier on Holocaust Memorial Day, the King paid tribute to Holocaust survivors, saying those who are gone are ‘with us in spirit’, as he and the Queen hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace.
Holocaust survivors and their families, with representatives from organisations protecting the memory of the Holocaust, first joined Charles in the East Wing, where they viewed portraits of survivors commissioned by Charles in 2022 when he was the Prince of Wales.
Last year, Charles became the first British monarch to visit Auschwitz, marking 80 years since its liberation.
Charles was first greeted by Helen Aronson, 98, a survivor of the Lodz ghetto in Poland.
As he bent down to kiss her in her wheelchair, in front of her portrait by Paul Benney who painted the Queen’s Coronation portrait, Helen, grasping his hand, asked how he was.
‘All the better for seeing you,’ he laughed. ‘Thank you so much for the invitation, keep well,’ she told him.
Other guests meeting Charles included Rachel Levy, 95, a survivor of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, another survivor of Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen and a celebrated cellist who survived Auschwitz by playing in the camp’s orchestra.
