Reporter Who Tweeted ‘Hitler Was Right’ Slams the BBC for Firing Her: They Put Me on ‘Trial With Social Media’

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A reporter who tweeted “Hitler Was Right” bashed the BBC on Wednesday for firing her, accusing the outlet of putting her on “trial with social media.”

Tala Halawa was fired by the BBC last month for a 2014 tweet that read, “#Israel Is more #Nazi than #Hitler! Oh, “#HitlerWasRight” #IDF go to hell. #PrayForGaza.” The tweet resurfaced in May during the two-week military battle between Israel and Hamas, which launched rockets from Gaza — which the U.S.-designated terrorist group controls — into Israel. The initial tweet was posted during the fighting between the two that year.

In her statement posted on Twitter on Wednesday, Halawa said, “I was 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 without thinking.”

“The offensive and ignorant words I posted at the time do not reflect my political views then as much as they do today. I hope those who were hurt by them will accept my heartfelt apology for posting without thinking,” she continued.

My statement on my dismissal from the BBC. pic.twitter.com/gWR6tNMfxO

— Tala Halawa (@HalawaTala) July 14, 2021

Halawa went on to slam the BBC for not “seeking avenues for apology, reconciliation, and dialogue” and instead choosing “trial with social media, amplifying troll voices and capitulating to pressure from external pro-Israel interest groups and right-wing media outlets determined to eliminate Palestinians from public life.”

“The BBC’s immediate dismissal at the whim of a pro-Israel mob is all the more absurd given the actual reason pro-Israel groups trained their sights on me: I recently published a video report on the corporation about celebrities being criticized, trolled and cancelled for supporting Palestinian self-determination,” she continued. “But I am not alone. This pro-Israel censorship campaign is industrial in scale and international in its search.”

Halawa decried that what happened “seems familiar to me both as a Palestinian and as a woman of color.”

“I take pride in the fact that during my four years at the BBC I was always known for my impartiality and professional journalism, even during the most difficult times,” she concluded. “I will continue to believe and fight for honest and brave journalism regardless of these menial attempts at character assassination.”

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