Chris Hayes, a frequent commentator and guest host on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show, went to Palestine/Israel this fall as a guest of the New America Foundation. When he filed his Postcard from Palestine in November’s issue of The Nation, he didn’t pull any punches:
Of Hebron, he reported: “It felt as if we were walking through a postapocalyptic urban video game brought to life.”
Of East Jerusalem, he pointed out the “irony in the settlers using pre-1948 deeds to make their case for occupying the homes in Sheikh Jarrah: it is usually Palestinians, demanding their right of return, who argue that pre-1948 deeds are legitimate. “From a Zionist perspective, it’s suicide,” activist and writer Didi Remez says …”
Hayes gets it. Can Maddow be far behind?
In the past six months The Rachel Maddow Show, whose main beat is domestic, has not only gained in the ratings, but expanded its reach into foreign affairs by reporting directly from the streets of Baghdad and Kabul in two series that offered a clear-eyed look at facts on the ground. Here’s hoping Israel/Palestine is next. If Hayes’ passionate reporting from the area is any indication, it just might be.
