Of the nine times Mr Ragheb was hosted by the broadcaster, eight were on “strictly Israel-related issues”, according to the Camera analysis. The ninth appearance was “a broader overview on Egypt’s strategy, which is also about its other neighbours”, it said.
Camera, which lobbies for “accurate and balanced” coverage of Israel, analysed Facebook posts made by the retired general.
On Facebook on Oct 7, Mr Ragheb wrote: “For the first time in half a century, the legend of the military that is never defeated is shattered – it is defeated in six hours. A new military miracle by all criteria – strategic, operational and tactical. October is the month of victory.”
Previously, Mr Ragheb had shared a link to download the anti-Semitic “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” and suggested questioning the Holocaust was not allowed in the West because “these people are quietly fooling us”.
A spokesman for Camera Arabic said: “Part of the problem with BBC Arabic inviting these dubious characters is that they then have the BBC’s seal of approval in the eyes of other outlets with self-professed Western journalistic standards.
“For example, after Ragheb appeared repeatedly on BBC Arabic, he was interviewed last week by the LA Times.”
‘Courts controversy on a regular basis’
The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism accused the BBC of courting controversy on a “regular basis”.
A spokesman said: “Some views – like praising the biggest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and propagating the anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that Jews control the world – are not the sort of views that the BBC, our national broadcaster, can justify as simply part of a the variety of views and perspectives that they must broadcast.
“BBC Arabic courts controversy on a regular basis, and these scandals have metastasised since Hamas carried out its barbaric attacks on Oct 7. They have related to anchors, employed and freelance journalists and partiality, bias and inaccuracies in content.
“We are rapidly approaching the point when the BBC must conduct an audit of the entire department. BBC Arabic risks becoming more of a propaganda outlet than a news service.”
The discovery comes weeks after The Telegraph revealed BBC Arabic had repeatedly used a commentator who was jailed for his role in the murder of an Israeli without disclosing his conviction.
Ismat Mansour was interviewed by BBC Arabic at least seven times in the first seven months of the war in Gaza, billed as a “Palestinian political analyst” and “Palestinian author and researcher”, according to Camera.