The BBC has been forced to apologise following claims by its Arabic service that Jews spit on Christians in a “holiday ritual”.

Claims were made in a video released by the corporation alongside an article titled “Sukkot: Spitting and Assault on Christians and Harassment of Muslims on the Jewish Holiday”.

In the video, released in October 2023, a caption claimed observant Jews celebrated their religious holiday, Sukkot, in Israel by spitting on Christians.

After the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (Camera) complained to the BBC, the caption was corrected to say: “Some observant Jews consider spitting on Christians a holiday ritual.”

However, Camera had to wait 19 months for a written apology to be issued. 

In the correspondence, the BBC said: “We apologise for the errors and thank you for your patience in waiting for this reply/confirmation of corrections that were made in October 2023.”

The footage sparked outrage after ultra-Orthodox Jews could be seen spitting on the ground alongside a procession of foreign Christian worshippers carrying a wooden cross in Jerusalem.

The spitting scene, captured by a reporter at Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, showed a group of foreign pilgrims beginning their procession through the limestone labyrinth of the Old City.

They were retracing the steps along the route they believe Jesus took before his crucifixion, raising a giant wooden cross.