CNN's S.E. Cupp: Media Not Accurately Representing Hamas [VIDEO]
In a tense debate with Arab American Institute President James Zogby, Cupp argues that there is a "bias by omission" regarding Hamas and its goals
By: Daniel Koren
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Since the conflict between Hamas terrorists and Israel began over a month ago, there have been several accusations that media reports have been unfavorably representing Israel, and that many media outlets operate with an anti-Israel bias.
Just last week, in fact, hundreds of demonstrators arrived at CNN offices in New York to protest this bias, claiming CNN, and dozens of other media outlets across the States, have been unfairly slanting their coverage of the conflict in Gaza.
Whether you believe it or not, there is surely a precedent for this demonstration. Depending on the news outlet of your choice, many have represented Israel as the culprit in the current ongoing war, from the New York Times to Gawker to Vice to The Guardian. Read the headlines, and see how the words are presented, and then decide how the article makes you feel about Israel afterwards. Smart readers will undoubtedly read between the lines and look to other sources to get the full picture.
But, as CNN commentator and Crossfire host S.E. Cupp has been arguing, many Americans who are unaware of the history of these two sides are receiving a biased and inaccurate representation of Hamas, and, consequently, Israel.
Last week, Cupp published an editorial in the New York Daily News titled The clearest sign of bias: Omitting Hamas' goal, where she argues that reporters should never leave out the fact that the Palestinian group's objective is to obliterate Israel.
Days later she defended her stance on CNN, saying that media outlets have been treating Hamas like a legitimate political organization as opposed to, how the U.S., Canada and the EU recognize them: as terrorists.
Then, in Sunday's debate with Arab American Institute President James Zogby on Reliable Sources, discussing, as host Brian Stelter referred to it, "bias by omission," Cupp reiterated her argument, saying any time a media group discusses the goals of Hamas, they should be mentioning their ultimate goal: the destruction of Israel, and the Jewish people.
This isn't an arbitrary piece of information here; it's published right there in the Hamas charter, and for reporters, it seems like something you'd want to mention.
“In discussing the demands that Hamas has in negotiations with Israel, most reporters omit the fact that Hamas’ stated main priority is the total destruction of Israel and the destruction of the Jews,” Cupp said. “It’s something that should be said any time you’re discussing what Hamas wants. Any time it is omitted that Hamas wants the annihilation of the Jews and the destruction of Israel, that…creates a false sense of moral equivalency.”
Zogby's response, beside being offensive and belittling to Cupp, was that her argument was "bizarre."
“I’m sorry, I would like to be polite, but that’s one of the most bizarre arguments I’ve heard,” he said, patronizing her. “Let me say that if we adopted that line of argumentation, then every time we mention Netanyahu we’d have to include parenthetically what they believe. …There is a total claim for the entire land of Israel without Palestinians present.”
“The Likud party," he continued, "as opposed to other political parties in Israel, has been very clear about maintaining from the very beginning that there was no indigenous native Palestinian presence.. They were to be expelled.”
When Cupp again made her point, Zogby, responding to her gender, said "Look at the Likud charter my dear."
Doubt he would have said that if she were a male.
“Your condescension aside, I’m not suggesting we need to go back thousands of years," Cupp retorted. "There is a desire in the media to create a balance in this story between Hamas and Israel. …the balance simply does not exist.”
Watch the video below for the full conversation:




