BBC Journo thought “#Hitlerwasright” wasn’t that shocking in context, you guys.
A BBC journalist dismissed by the broadcaster for once tweeting that “Hitler was right” issued a statement Wednesday blaming the “pro-Israel mob” for her sacking, claiming that the real motivation was a recent report she published about pro-Palestinian celebrities being canceled.
In the midst of the 2014 Gaza war — and three years before she was hired by the BBC — Tala Halawa tweeted “#Israel is more #Nazi than #Hitler! Oh, #HitlerWasRight #IDF go to hell. #prayForGaza.”
In her statement this week, Halawa acknowledged that the post was “ignorant and offensive,” but was written by a “young Palestinian woman tweeting in the heat of the moment as I witnessed horrific, undeserved deaths met with international media silence and used a popular hashtag at the time without thinking.”
She added that the tweet does not reflect her views and offered a “heartfelt apology for posting without thinking.”
But Halawa went on to insist that her post was not grounds for dismissal and that her former employer caved “to pressure from external pro-Israel interest groups and right-wing media outlets determined to eliminate Palestinians from public life.”
The pro-Israel Honest Reporting media watchdog flagged the seven-year-old tweet, which led the BBC to open an internal investigation that ultimately led to Halawa’s firing.
