Jasmine Gaziza Müller. Photo: YouTube screenshot

Producers of the British reality television show “Love Island” have come under fire for not taking action against a contestant who has uploaded more than 60 Instagram posts against Israel’s existence and legitimacy as well as the country’s supporters.

UK Lawyers For Israel, which is an association of lawyers who support the Jewish country, said on Thursday the broadcaster ITV has not addressed their concerns and request to conduct an urgent review of Jasmine Gaziza Müller’s participation on the dating show because of her social media posts. “Love Island” is being broadcast on ITV2 and Müller is currently “coupled up” on the show with 21-year-old electrician Kavan Murphy.

UKLFI originally wrote to ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall on Sunday after reviewing dozens of screenshots from Müller’s Instagram account. ITV passed the complaint on to Lifted Entertainment, which produces “Love Island.” Lifted Entertainment then responded to UKLFI on Wednesday, acknowledging concerns expressed by the association but also saying it believed the show complied with all legal and regulatory regulations, including Ofcom Broadcasting Codes.

“Ms Müller’s views, while strong and subject to debate, represent her personal exercise of freedom of speech and have been expressed independently of the program,” the producers wrote to UKLFI in their letter, which has been shared with The Algemeiner. “Both Lifted Entertainment and ITV do not and would never accept or condone any form of discrimination or racism,” they added. “Our contributors are monitored 24 hours a day and all conversations are recorded. We are confident that there is no indication of any kind of risk to the welfare, wellbeing and dignity of the participants in the program.”

Müller is a 27-year-old from Dubai who lives in London. She has shared messages online that deny Israel’s legitimacy, claim Israel should not exist and is a “s—t country,” and express hostility towards Israel supporters. The hateful messages were posted or reshared on Instagram between approximately May 2021 and February 2024, according to UKLFI. She has 496,000 followers on the platform.

Müller, who runs a fashion label called Mahila Intimates with her sister, posted one graphic that stated: “Educate the younger generation. Tell them it’s [sic] called Palestine not Israel.” Other posts described Israel as a “colonial project” and “the entity” that is “UNLAWFUL in EVERYTHING that it does.” One photograph showed a sign that said: “No way am I spending eternity in hell with the pro-Israelers!!!” Another image shows a fighter beside a map in which Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are all presented as Palestine, with Israel erased.

In their original letter to ITV, which was shared with The Algemeiner, UKLFI said it was not objecting to advocacy for Palestinian rights or criticism of Israeli policies. Rather, the association was concerned with material shared by Muller that denies Israel’s existence and calls for its erasure, with would result in the displacement or subjugation of millions of Jews, and targets its supporters with hostility, including many British Jews.

UKLFI asked ITV to treat the matter primarily as a participant-welfare issue. It said if any contestant were Jewish, Israeli or pro-Israel, the risk to their welfare and dignity would be “obvious and foreseeable.” It added that ITV’s promotion of a contestant associated with such hateful social media posts risks normalizing such material and causing distress to Jewish and Israeli viewers.

“UKLFI has asked ITV to confirm whether the material was identified during background checks, carry out an urgent welfare-led risk assessment, consider whether Ms Müller’s continued participation is appropriate and review its vetting procedures,” the letter said.

“This is not about preventing legitimate advocacy for Palestinians or criticism of an Israeli government. It concerns posts that erase Israel altogether and express hostility towards people simply because they support it,” noted a UKLFI spokesperson. “ITV must urgently assess the implications for other contestants and for its young viewers.”

In its response, Lifted Entertainment said in part: “We do not believe that ITV, the program and its official channels have ‘amplified’ or ‘rewarded’ the personal views of Ms Müller that you have referred to.” However, in a follow-up letter to ITV and Lifted Entertainment on Thursday, UKLFI said it does “not accept” their claim, and accused the broadcaster and producer of failing to address their principal concerns.

“Participation in one of the country’s most prominent reality programs inevitably increased a contestant’s public profile, social media following and influence. Our concern was that this amplification occurred without any apparent public acknowledgement or meaningful assessment of the material retained on her account,” UKLFI wrote.

The association of lawyers said their complaint was primarily about the show’s decision “to select and promote a contest at whose publicly available social media material included hostility towards ‘pro-Israelers,’ denial or erasure of Israel’s existence, and imagery presenting the whole territory of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza as Palestine.”

“It is insufficient to treat all the material as no more than a controversial political viewpoint,” said UKLFI. They asked ITV to again address their specific concerns, including those about the broadcaster’s vetting process, welfare assessment of contestants and their response to Muller’s social media posts. UKLFI said they would like a “full response from ITV’s Compliance Department” and not just “a general statement from the program’s production company.”