BBC staff ‘fury’ at Gary Lineker after Match of the Day star shared video which accused Israel of committing ‘textbook genocide’ in Gaza – in fresh impartiality row for broadcaster

BBC staff are reportedly ‘furious’ after Gary Lineker appeared to endorse a video of a Holocaust historian accusing Israel of commiting ‘textbook genocide’ in Gaza.

The Match of the Day presenter took to X, formerly Twitter, to share the 13-minute clip of an interview between Israeli-American historian Raz Segal and journalist Owen Jones about the ongoing Middle East crisis.

Mr Segal, an associate professor of Holocaust and genocide studies at Stockton University in New Jersey, said the October 7 Hamas attack was ‘not a crime related to the Holocaust in any way’.

Lineker, 62, had shared the video with his 8.7 million followers, telling them that it was ‘worth 13 minutes of anyone’s time’ – but it has reportedly generated unease among corporation staff, particularly those of the Jewish faith.

In remarks reported by the Times, BBC staff reportedly speculated that it would be ‘bloody awful’ for Jewish colleagues working with Lineker.

Gary Lineker (pictured) has sparked a fresh impartiality row by sharing a video which accuses Israel of committing ‘textbook genocide’ in Gaza

The video, by journalist Owen Jones (left), features academic Raz Segal (right) who accuses Israel of ‘genocide’ and disregards comparisons between Hamas and the Nazis

Lineker reposted the video alongside the caption: ‘Worth 13 minutes of anyone’s time’ 

In the video, Professor Segal can be heard criticising the Israeli military response to the brutal October 7 attacks carried out by Hamas

The worker added: ‘It’s pretty s*** for any Jew having to work with quite a few folk here right now.’ 

A BBC journalist told the newspaper: ‘He’s not respecting Jewish colleagues (and) amplifying really offensive accusations of ‘genocide’.’ 

READ MORE: Fury after BBC gives Gary Lineker the green light to air his anti-Tory political views on social media despite Nazi tweet row – as MPs warn new rules will mean ‘open season’ for Beeb stars 

In the interview, Mr Segal, an expert on the Holocaust, outlined what constituted genocide according to a United Nations definition – and stated that he believed Israel’s actions in the wake of the Hamas attacks last month met that definition.

He also claimed that Israeli media and wider society was using ‘shocking’ and ‘demonising’ language to describe Gaza.

Summarising, Mr Segal said: ‘I think that what we’re seeing in front of our eyes is a textbook case of genocide.’

The post sparked fury, with Jewish Chronicle editor Stephen Pollard accusing the ex-England star of ‘universe-bending ignorance’. 

Conservative MP for Buckingham Greg Smith added: ‘It is inconceivable any right-minded person would give that video the time of day.’

It has also reportedly prompted a debate inside New Broadcasting House over whether Lineker has breached the BBC’s updated social media guidelines.

The rules on what BBC employees can say online were overhauled after Lineker compared Suella Braverman’s immigration policies to 1930s Germany.

‘Flagship programme presenters’ outside of news are free to express their opinions on ‘issues that matter to (them)’ – but must stop short of showing support for political parties.

MailOnline has contacted the BBC for comment. 

Elsewhere in the video, Mr Segal also dismissed comparisons between Hamas and the Nazis, claiming the abuse endured by Jews during the Second World War had a ‘very different context’ from ‘Palestinians… [living] for decades under Israeli settler colonial rule’.

Smoke rises over Beit Hanoun in Northern Gaza after an Israeli air strike on November 22

An IDF soldier stands inside what it says is a Hamas tunnel inside the Al-Shifa hospital complex in Gaza City. Press photographers travelling with the IDF have had their pictures vetted

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war in Gaza is ‘continuing’ until Hamas is wiped out and some 240 Israeli hostages are returned

He also stated that the October 7 attacks were ‘an act of horrendous mass murder’ and ‘without a doubt a case of war crime’. 

Now in its seventh week, the war has leveled vast swaths of Gaza, fueled a surge of violence in the occupied West Bank, and stirred fears of a wider conflagration across the Middle East.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a nationally televised news conference that the war would resume after the truce expires.

Israel’s goals are to destroy Hamas’ military capabilities and return all 240 hostages held captive in Gaza. It maintains that it is defending itself against Hamas with its relentless bombardment of Gaza.

‘I want to be clear. The war is continuing. The war is continuing. We will continue it until we achieve all our goals,’ Netanyahu said, adding he had delivered the same message in a phone call to U.S. President Joe Biden. 

He also said he had instructed the Mossad spy agency to hunt down Hamas’ exiled leadership ‘wherever they are.’

To date, more than 11,000 people have been killed in Gaza as a result of Israel’s retaliatory attacks following the Hamas incursion in October.

The true death toll is suspected to be far higher — but Palestinian health authorities say they can no longer count the dead because Israel’s ongoing action inside Gaza has crippled vital infrastructure.

The official death toll in Israel since October 7 sits at around 1,200. 

Earlier this week, a panel of UN experts expressed concern over what they called ‘a genocide in the making’ in Gaza, citing ‘grave violations’ committed by Israel.

The statement – issued before Hamas and Israel agreed to a four day ceasefire to allow for an exchange of hostages – condemned Israel for using ‘powerful weaponry with inherently indiscriminate impacts, resulting in a colossal death toll’.

Failing to impose the ceasefire, the experts said, risked ‘spiralling towards a genocide conducted with 21st century means and methods of warfare’.

Among the experts were Palestine expert Francesca Albanese, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Palestinian Territories, who told reporters last week that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory was ‘apartheid by default’.

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