CBS News warned its journalists last month not to say Jerusalem is in Israel, after telling journalists to avoid labeling Hamas members as terrorists immediately after the October 7 attacks.
Mark Memmott, senior director of standards and practices at CBS News, told all network employees in August via email not to refer to Jerusalem “as if it were in Israel.” The free press reported on Wednesday.
He reportedly wrote in a note to “thousands” of CBS journalists: “Yes, the US embassy is there and the Trump administration recognized it as the capital of Israel.” But its status is disputed. The status of Jerusalem goes to the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.’
While president, Donald Trump moved the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, angering Palestinians who claim East Jerusalem is the capital of a future independent state.
The Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem on September 17, 2024
On Thursday, Bari Weiss, founder and editor of The Free Press, claimed that an editorial email about ‘standards’ was sent to CBS reporters on October 8, 2023, just one day after the Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people.
“Reporting on this weekend’s violence in Israel and Gaza requires a closer look at the language we use when we describe the events,” reads the note, which Weiss posted on her X account, garnering more than 200,000 views as of today. Friday.
‘For example, the United States government considers Hamas a terrorist organization; However, suggesting that an individual is a “terrorist” may be inaccurate depending on the facts.
A Palestinian Hamas fighter photographed on July 19, 2023.
Bari Weiss claimed that an editorial email about “standards” was sent to CBS journalists on October 8, just one day into the Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people.
‘There are some who believe that the Hamas attack is a justified retaliation to the Israeli occupations of their land. Others believe that this is an unprovoked attack on Israel and, as such, Israel has every right to defend itself.’
A network spokesperson familiar with the emails told DailyMail.com that The Free Press took its style guide out of context, saying the part about not referring to Jerusalem as being in Israel was intended to remind journalists that include the context of the ongoing conflict.
The news came as the network came under fire for reprimanding CBS Mornings host Tony Dokoupil for what many believe was his legitimately harsh questioning of author Ta-Nehisi Coates about his pro-Palestine stance.
Following allegations that host Gayle King tipped off Coates about what questions were going to be asked, the network denied the claim and defended her.
Many accused the network of hypocrisy by citing a clip of Gayle King interviewing Thomas Hand in November 2023 about the kidnapping of his eight-year-old daughter Emily on October 7.
Thomas Hand, left, appeared on CBS Mornings with Gayle King, right, and Tony Dokoupil in November 2023 after Hamas kidnapped his daughter Emily during the October 7 attacks.
CBS Mornings co-host Tony Dokoupil (right) criticized author Ta-Nehisi Coates (left) for “delegitimizing” Israel’s right to exist last week.
King asked Hand: ‘Now it seems like this is all about politics. What do you say about that? You know, there are innocent Palestinian children who are dying, innocent Israeli children who are dying. And no one seems to be able to say, “Enough, enough.”
Hand laughed nervously and replied: ‘I’m not interested in politics at all. My only concern is getting Emily back.
King’s tough line of questioning, which was backed by his bosses at CBS Mornings, sparked accusations of hypocrisy after Dokoupil questioned Coates about his anti-Israel views last week.
Jewish Insider correspondent Lahav Harkov said of King’s conversation with Hand: “It violates CBS standards for Tony Dokoupil to ask Ta-Nehisi Coates tough questions about his anti-Israel speech, but apparently it was totally fine for Gayle King to made accusations to the father of a hostage… who, by the way, did not say anything derogatory about the Palestinians.
