On Thursday, two Jewish journalists are expected to moderate the first debate between former President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden, ahead of this year’s presidential election.
Given Israel’s controversial operations in Gaza, escalating tensions with Hezbollah on Israel’s northern border, and protests on university campuses, Israel has taken center stage in media discourse.
CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash have both reported extensively on the Middle East.
Tapper, the host of the network’s afternoon show The Lead With Jake Tapper, has faced backlash as protests on college campuses across the United States have escalated.
Viewers were outraged, saying Tapper was blaming protesters for his decision not to talk about the suffering in Gaza.
Tapper’s coverage of Israel led to protesters showing up outside his residence. A video posted to X, formerly Twitter, shows Code Pink protesters invading Tapper’s private residence and yelling at his children that their father is “committing war crimes.”
Code Pink is a left-wing, feminist and anti-war group. Protesters claimed Tapper had “spewed Israeli propaganda” and refused to call the deaths of civilians in Gaza “genocide.”
In the video, Tapper’s children can be seen standing on a balcony and waving to protesters as they chant the “Star-Spangled Banner.”
Dana Bash, meanwhile, hosts the daily show Inside Politics and co-hosts the Sunday morning show State of the Union with Tapper. Bash has also been criticized for her comments about Israel.
In early May, she addressed anti-Semitic violence on college campuses, saying: “Destruction, violence and hatred are taking over college campuses across the country and Jewish students do not feel safe in their own homes. establishments. This is unacceptable and takes us back to the 1930s in Europe.”
CNN viewers accused her of distributing propaganda and ignoring “decades of history” in the Middle East before October 7, notes the Jerusalem Post.
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