Cross posted to the MRC's NewsBusters blog
Sunday's morning shows on CNN and Fox displayed a stark contrast in how the two networks covered the anti-Israel rally in D.C. from Saturday. On Fox & Friends Sunday, a report by correspondent Griff Jenkins showed viewers how hostile some of the participants were toward the world's only Jewish state while CNN's Gabe Cohen's report focused more on the push for "freedom" and end to the violence (by Israel's military).
At 7:20 a.m. Eastern, CNN This Morning Weekend co-host Amara Walker cited Hamas's claims about the number of Palestinian deaths without question as she set up the report:
Across the world, thousands took to the streets to show support for Palestinians and protest Israel's bombardment of Gaza. In Paris, Indonesia, Berlin and Washington, D.C., people gathered, many carrying Palestinian flags and signs calling for the violence to end. Since the start of the war, almost 10,000 people have died in Gaza. That is according to the Hamas-controlled health ministries there. Many of them were civilians.
Even though Israel provides more freedom to Arabs in areas under its jurisdiction than do Arab countries, CNN emphasized calls for freedom. The segment showed a clip of protesters chanting, "Free Palestine" before co-host Victor Blackwell noted that some of the protests occurred at Freedom Plaza in D.C. Cohen's introduction emphasized calls for a ceasefire:
Well, thousands of protesters marched through Washington and ended up here at the White House after that huge rally just a few blocks away at Freedom Plaza. Hours of speakers who called for an end to the bombings and the ground operations in Gaza but also demanding that the White House and President Joe Biden call for a ceasefire and end its unequivocal support for Israel, saying that could be a serious political issue for the President in 2024 if he does not call for that ceasefire.
Cohen was seen speaking with a few rally attendees who threatened not to vote for President Joe Biden in 2020 before concluding with another reference to freedom: "Now, organizers told me they hoped this would be the largest Free Palestine rally in U.S. history. And while I can't confirm that, I can tell it's the largest one I have seen here in Washington since the war began last month."
Just 13 minutes later over on Fox, Jenkins showed more provocative signs and anti-Israel statements made by rally goers. Jenkins began by lamenting that the Washington Post on Sunday ignored the rally on its front page in spite of the tens of thousands of protesters.
Protesters could be seen chanting, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will soon be free," commonly known to refer to anti-Israel activists wanting to take over all of Israel. Later on, there was a boy using a bull horn to lead a chant calling for an "intifada," which in Arabic means a "revolt" against Israel. (Previous violent uprisings were called the First Intifada in the late 1980s, the Second Intifada in the early 2000s, and, a few years ago, a spate of Arabs stabbing Jews in Jerusalem was called a "knife intifada.")
Jenkins showed clip of rally goers who claimed refused to condemn Hamas, complained about the group being called terrorists, or declaring that there should be no Israel.
CNN's lame report that covered for anti-Israel protesters was sponsored in part by Centrum and Verizon. Their contact information is linked.
Transcripts follow:
CNN This Morning Weekend
November 5, 2023
7:20 a.m. Eastern
AMARA WALKER: Across the world, thousands took to the streets to show support for Palestinians and protest Israel's bombardment of Gaza. In Paris, Indonesia, Berlin and Washington, D.C., people gathered, many carrying Palestinian flags and signs calling for the violence to end. Since the start of the war, almost 10,000 people have died in Gaza. That is according to the Hamas-controlled health ministries there. Many of them were civilians.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE PROTESTER: Free Palestine!
CHANTING CROWED: Free, free Palestine!
VICTOR BLACKWELL: One of the largest crowds took over Freedom Plaza by the National Mall in Washington -- more than 450 organizations endorsed the march, and multiple organizers directly addressed President Biden. Here's CNN's Gabe Cohen.
GABE COHEN: Well, thousands of protesters marched through Washington and ended up here at the White House after that huge rally just a few blocks away at Freedom Plaza. Hours of speakers who called for an end to the bombings and the ground operations in Gaza but also demanding that the White House and President Joe Biden call for a ceasefire and end its unequivocal support for Israel, saying that could be a serious political issue for the President in 2024 if he does not call for that ceasefire. Here's what some of those protesters told me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE PROTESTER #2: My message to President Biden is: I voted for you, and I regret it.
COHEN: Will you vote for him in 2024?
PROTESTER #2: Absolutely not
RIBHI, PROTESTER: Am I going to vote for him? I'm not going to vote for him because he's supporting Israel. He's asking for $13 billion to do more killing of the Palestinian people.
COHEN: Now, organizers told me they hoped this would be the largest Free Palestine rally in U.S. history. And while I can't confirm that, I can tell it's the largest one I have seen here in Washington since the war began last month.
(...)
Fox & Friends Sunday
November 5, 2023
7:33 a.m. Eastern
WILL CAIN: Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters raging in D.C. before descending on the White House chanting "Allahu Akbar" while cursing President Biden and Israel. Fox News correspondent Griff Jenkins was there, and he joins us now. Griff?
GRIFF JENKINS: Hey, Will, good morning. And, you know, you would think that tens of thousands turning out demanding a ceasefire in Gaza would make the cover of the Washington Post, but, interestingly, it doesn't. The lead story is about climate change in South Sudan. And it perhaps isn't there because their other main message is to turn out in front of the White House as they did to accuse President Biden of genocide for supporting Israel. And, by the way, the crowd didn't want to talk about the events on October 7th. Take a look.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE PROTESTER #1: From the river to the sea!
CROWD CHANTING: From the river to the sea!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE PROTESTER #1: Palestine will be free!
CROWD CHANTING: Palestine will be free!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE PROTESTER #1: From the river to the sea!
CROWD CHANTING: From the river to the sea!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE PROTESTER #1: Palestine will be free!
CROWD CHANTING: Palestine will be free!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE PROTESTER #1: "Genocide Joe" needs to halt his actions immediately and realize that he's going to face massive opposition to Democratic voters in the next election.
JENKINS: Is Biden a terrorist?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE PROTESTER #2: He is! His hands are red with blood! They're soaked in blood! The blood of the children -- the innocent children of Palestine!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE PROTESTER #2: This is not Israel -- this is Palestine! This is our ancestral homeland!
JENKINS: Do you support Israel to exist? Or are you saying, "Get rid of Israel altogether."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE PROTESTER # 3: Get rid of it.
UNIDENTIFIED BOY (with bullhorn): There is only one solution!
CHANTING CROWD: There is only one solution!
BOY (with bullhorn): Intifada, revolution!
CHANTING CROWD: Intifada, revolution!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE PROTESTER #4: Israel is terrorists. They kill the children. They bombed the hospital. They do a lot of things bad in Gaza.
JENKINS: Do you see the -- you see Israel as terrorists?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE PROTESTER #4: Yes.
JENKINS: What's the flag? What's the message out here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE PROTESTER #5: Well, queer liberation, Palestinian liberation, liberation for everybody.
JENKINS: So what about the LGBTQ rights not being respected in places like Gaza?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE PROTESTER #5: Well, people keep bringing that up.
JENKINS: Do you condemn Hamas? Or do you support their efforts?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE PROTESTER #6: Do you condemn 75 years of occupation? That's the answer.
JENKINS: Should Israel exist?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE PROTESTER #7: There is no Israel.
JENKINS: Israel is a fascist state?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE PROTESTER #8: Yeah, and I'm anti-fascist.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE PROTESTER #3: You're going to breed Hamas when you continue to keep occupying the people. Hamas will be everywhere when you continue to keep occupying the people. That's it.
JENKINS: The U.S. points to Hamas in Gaza and says they're terrorists. Do you agree?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE PROTESTER #2: That's unacceptable!
JENKINS (live): Will, it's quite clear that while the President was in Rehoboth Beach, the message has got to have been heard out there because this is now going to be an issue that he's going to have to deal with, and I don't think there's any good answers for the White House right now.
(...)
...The most striking thing -- I'll leave you with this, Will -- is that we saw -- Ari -- my producer -- and I -- saw countless signs that had a Jewish star and a swastika equating Jews with Nazis. Which is just remarkable that that is what's happening in the streets of this country.