BBC News Committee aid appeal for Palestinians who suffered in Gaza during 22-day war there in late 2008/early 2009. Most other major UK broadcasters did air this appeal, but rival Sky News did not. British journalist Julie Burchill has accused BBC of creating a "climate of fear" for British Jews over its "excessive coverage" of Israel compared to other nations. BBC and ABC share video segments and reporters as needed in producing their newscasts. with the BBC showing "ABC World News Tonight with David Muir" in the UK. However, in July 2017, BBC announced a new partnership with CBS News allows both
Criticism of the BBC appeal "violates the rules of basic human decency which are there to help vulnerable people irrespective of who is right or wrong." The BBC's chief operating officer, Caroline Thomson, affirmed the need to broadcast "without affecting and impinging on the audience's perception of our impartiality" and that in this case, it was a "real issue." In response to perceived falsehoods and distortions in a BBC One "Panorama" documentary entitled 'A Walk in the Park', transmitted in January 2010, British journalist Melanie Phillips wrote an open letter in news magazine "The Spectator" to the Secretary of State for Culture, Jeremy Hunt,