Almost every person of Arab, Muslim and Jewish heritage working in TV and film has experienced a deterioration in their mental health following Hamas’ October 7 attack and the subsequent humanitarian crisis in Gaza, a leading charity has reported.
A startling 94% surveyed by the Film & TV Charity reported their mental health or psychological and mental wellbeing had declined following the tragic events in Israel and Palestine over the past four-and-a-half months. Among this figure, 92% of Jewish respondents and 95% of Muslim and Arab respondents said this was the case, and just 24% felt supported by their employers.
The survey was followed by a series of countable discussions between senior leaders from the major UK networks, production companies, newsroom execs, industry bodies and representatives from British Muslim, Arab, and Jewish communities working in the film and TV industry. Channel 4 content chief Ian Katz, Directors UK boss Andy Harrower, Sky News’ Louise Hastings and Prime Video’s Lisa Rousseau were among them.
Across five sessions and 10 roundtables in total, the Film & TV Charity facilitated two separate Jewish and senior Muslim and Arab groups to discuss the findings. The groups presented qualitative and quantitive data from the survey, combined with their own experiences. Each group called on the industry to take action to address serious concerns around antisemitism, Islamophobia and mental health impacts.
“In November last year, we committed to exploring the mental health and wellbeing of people affected by the conflict and unfolding humanitarian crisis taking place in Israel and Gaza,” said Marcus Ryder, CEO at the Film and TV Charity. “This followed an unprecedented rise in antisemitic incidents in the UK being recorded by the Metropolitan Police, one that has been underlined by more recent data from the Community Security Trust. The conflict has also highlighted longstanding systemic problems relating to historical issues of Islamophobia and what is believed to be serious underrepresentation of the UK’s Muslim population in the British film and TV industry.”
A fuller analysis of the findings will be released in late March, as part of an interim report exploring the points raised and calls for action.
“Our survey has only served to underline that the conflict and ongoing events in the UK are having a real impact on the mental health of people in our industry, and it is the Charity’s job to ensure that we recognise that and tailor our support accordingly, as well as helping other organisations to do the same,” said Ryder.
He described the sessions as a “first stage in a critical, complex, and much-needed conversation.”
Kelly Webb-Lamb, CEO and Founder at Mothership Productions and Trustee of the Jewish Museum London; Hilary Rosen, Director of Commissioning at UKTV and Chair of the BAFTA TV Committee; and Anna Mishcon, Executive at the Film and TV Charity, who were part of the group presenting the views of the industry’s Jewish community, said in a statement: “Many Jewish colleagues across the industry have struggled enormously since the massacres of October 7th. We are grateful to the Charity for convening a safe space for us to discuss our concerns with our industry leaders and share our urgent recommendations for positive change. With their allyship and commitment, we hope that the mental health and wellbeing of Jewish colleagues across the industry can show dramatic improvement, and that we can unite to tackle the significant impact of anti-Jewish racism.”
Aaqil Ahmed, media consultant and former Head of Religion and Ethics at the BBC; Fozia Khan, Head of Unscripted, UK Originals at Amazon MGM Studios; and Fadah Jassem, Senior Producer at Al Jazeera and AI advisor, part of the group of Muslim industry representatives presenting the views of Muslim and Arab industry workers at the meetings, said: “The work undertaken with the Film and TV Charity has, for many people of Muslim and Arab backgrounds, finally given them an opportunity to express how they feel in work and how they feel they have been affected both mentally and career-wise by their work environment. The survey results and wider conversations are sobering and, hopefully, a wakeup call for all of us in the film and TV industries to reflect on how people feel and an opportunity to address many of the issues raised, from representation on air to fairness and support in the workplace.
“We are all grateful not just to the Charity for having the foresight to do this work, but also to the senior industry leaders for engaging in a collaborative and thoughtful process to try and make a difference. This is just the beginning of dialogue and understanding that we all hope will deliver a better, more representative environment and one that we can all be comfortable and proud to work in.”
Since Hamas-led soldiers attacked Israel, killed more than 1,200 and taking 253 more prisoner, Israel’s retaliatory military campaign in the Gaza Strip has killed close to 30,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. President Joe Biden has said he hopes a ceasefire will be in place by Monday, amid reports Hamas and Israeli officials have indirectly engaged in negotiations.
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