THE Canvey Jewish community is confident a documentary will show both residents and themselves in a positive light.

The BBC has commissioned a programme to look at how the Canvey and Jewish communities are integrating after a number of Chasidic families moved to the island.

However, more than 1,700 people have signed a petition calling for the documentary to be scrapped.

The petition reads: “The BBC have found a non-issue, and believe they have every reason to make a controversial story out of it. We can cover this story in two minutes flat - some Jewish people have moved to Canvey, they’ve got their own community, there’s been no violence or hate speech or marginalisation because the people of Canvey aren’t racist bigots.”

Director of the documentary, Rieta Oord, told the Echo that their fears are unfounded and the documentary is very positive.

Joel Friedman, a member of the Jewish community on Canvey, said the community had considered carefully the implications before agreeing.

He said: “Since our move to Canvey, I was approached by numerous agencies who wished to make a documentary.

“They all seemed fascinated by the fact of a community starting a fresh life after being priced out of London.

“I was never too excited about a documentary due to the exact same reasons mentioned in the petition. The Orthodox Jewish community are all too familiar with the press promoting negative views about them, in most cases using out-of-context or fabricated stories.

“However, for this particular documentary producers persisted and pushed ahead with the filming while promising to treat us, and Canvey in general, with sensitivity and fairness.

“That is why I agreed and participated in the filming. So, yes, I can identify with the petitioners and I have noted that the vast majority of the comments on the petition page are positive towards Canvey and our community.

“But personally I trust the producers and expect the BBC will indeed show the facts on the ground, which is Canvey is very welcoming to our community and is a beautiful place to live.”