Let’s do a little quiz: who among our readers knows where the “Holy Land” is located?
Now, if anyone was thinking the answer to this question is Israel, they would — if the BBC was judging — be incorrect.
Because the BBC and its Middle East correspondent Yolande Knell apparently believe there is an official country called the Holy Land, which has a city named Jerusalem, but, bizarrely, has absolutely no connection to the modern-day State of Israel.
In an article on the BBC’s website, ‘First woman pastor in Holy Land ordained,’ long-time correspondent Knell reports:
In many parts of the Christian world, female church leaders are no longer unusual. But until now, the Holy Land – where events in the Bible are set – had not seen a local woman ordained.
On Sunday, a Palestinian from Jerusalem, Sally Azar, became its first woman pastor at an event at the Lutheran church in the heart of the Old City, attended by hundreds of international well-wishers.”
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Despite repeatedly referencing both the Old City and Jerusalem, which has been the capital city of Israel since its establishment in 1948, Knell appears to go to great lengths to avoid mentioning the Jewish state at all in the entire article.
Indeed, the linguistic somersaults that are performed to sidestep Israel’s name make the article utterly confusing at times, such as when later in the piece Knell makes reference to Protestant Churches that have “small local congregations and run schools and hospitals in the Holy Land.”
This, after not even telling readers where on earth the Holy Land actually is.
In fact, Israel is only mentioned once in the entire story — in the fifth paragraph where it is referenced alongside Jordan and the Palestinian Territories:
Christians make up a minority in the Palestinian Territories, Israel and Jordan. Most Christians here belong to the Greek Orthodox and Latin Catholic Churches, which do not allow women priests.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Knell does not bother to state that while Christians are a minority in Israel, their numbers are actually growing — in stark contrast to the Palestinian Territories and Jordan where the Christian population continues to decline and where followers of the faith face abuse and ostracism.
Meanwhile, a little research into the story’s subject, the newly-ordained Sally Azar, reveals she holds some very problematic views, which we can only assume Knell was unaware of when she wrote this glowing profile.
As revealed by Israellycool, Azar has previously condoned the euphemistically termed Palestinian “resistance,” which is often code for violence, and has blamed Israel for her inability to travel to Gaza while ignoring the brutal treatment Christians in the Strip face at the hands of Hamas.
Read More: History Repeating Itself as Bethlehem’s Christians Face Extinction
A Pattern of Poor Israel Reportage
Sadly, this seems par for the course when it comes to Knell’s patchy Israel reportage.
For example, we recently pointed out that she resorted to obfuscation and oversimplification in an attempt to suggest the Israeli government had introduced draconian and discriminatory measures that had the effect of preventing Palestinians from finding true love.
In the piece, “Israeli rules say West Bank visitors must declare love interest,” Knell misrepresented ordinances related to foreign spouses of Palestinians and the regulations concerning foreign employment and volunteering in the West Bank so as to insinuate the Jewish state was enacting Orwellian rules to control every aspect of Palestinians’ lives.
Likewise, a report by Knell about the plight of cancer patients living under the governance of the Palestinian Authority (PA) who were denied treatment due to chronic hospital underfunding subtly tried to blame Israel for the mismanagement crisis.
Ignoring how Ramallah allocates more than 7 percent of its annual budget to the so-called “Martyrs’ Fund” that awards cash to Palestinian terrorists, Knell instead highlighted how Israel withholds tax revenues on the PA’s behalf — apparently hinting that this was the reason Palestinians were unable to get chemotherapy.
Considering the BBC extols itself as a “trusted voice” that is known “around the world for the strength of its journalism and impartiality,” it may want to reconsider how it reports on the Holy Land.
That is, how it reports on Israel.
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Photo: Nick Brundle Photography via Shutterstock
© Divuach Ne’eman R”A, 2025
