This Hollywood Reporter piece is headlined, “CBS Shareholders Accuse ’60 Minutes’ of Anti-Semitism,” but CBS seems to be yawning about it. The Israel lobby group CAMERA, traditionally effective at moving mainstream media, has led a campaign against CBS since it aired this piece a year ago by Bob Simon, “Christians of the Holy Land,” in which Simon publicized the Kairos document against the occupation and made the unforgivable error of confronting Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren over the fact that he’d called CBS execs to try and block his story (dialogue below).
CBS isn’t budging. Notice that it’s responded to CAMERA’s endless letters with a four-sentence pro-forma get-lost note. CAMERA says CBS is “stonewalling like Nixon,” but who cares about CAMERA? The watchdogs have become pesky yap dogs, says Pamela Olson, who passed this along. From the Reporter:
Another member of CAMERA, general counsel Edward Schwartz, also complained to CBS shareholders, executives and board members of inaccuracies in the segment that he said are so egregious, they could be interpreted as anti-Semitic…
Schwartz complained that CAMERA has “repeatedly” pointed out the mistakes in the piece to [CBS board chairman Jeff] Fager but that he and CBS board members are “stonewalling.”
“We anticipated that factual errors denigrating the state of Israel would be corrected and the record set straight,” Schwartz said. “Instead, the detailed letter sent to Jeff Fager enumerating errors in the Bob Simon segment that we shared with this board a year ago received a totally un-serious, four-sentence reply that did not address even one of the factual errors cited.”
Each of the CAMERA representatives spoke twice, and Moonves responded that he was standing by the 60 Minutes segment. CBS general counsel Louis Briskman spoke of 60 Minutes being the “crown jewel” of CBS News, and he said that the show’s “First Amendment rights should not be chilled.”
From Bob Simon’s Holy Land segment:
Bob Simon: And it was a reason to call the president of– chairman of CBS News?
Michael Oren: Bob, I’m the ambassador of the State of Israel. I do that very, very infrequently as ambassador. It’s just– that’s an extraordinary move for me to complain about something. When I heard that you were going to do a story about Christians in the Holy Land and my assum– and– and had, I believe, information about the nature of it, and it’s been confirmed by this interview today.
Bob Simon: Nothing’s been confirmed by the interview, Mr. Ambassador, because you don’t know what’s going to be put on air.
Michael Oren: Okay. I don’t. True.
Bob Simon: Mr. Ambassador, I’ve been doing this a long time. And I’ve received lots of reactions from just about everyone I’ve done stories about. But I’ve never gotten a reaction before from a story that hasn’t been broadcast yet.
Michael Oren: Well, there’s a first time for everything, Bob.
the image of the treatment of ‘Christians of the Holy Land’ is completely coveted by israel, which is why the story of what happened to palestinian christians on easter this month,
Christians denounce Israel’s manhandling of worshipers at Holy Sepulcher on Easter weekend; Israel apologizes to Egypt, was completely blacked out of US media coverage.
from the hollywood reporter:
camera lies. according to palestinian christians, they are being persecuted by the occupation, not muslims. who are we going to believe?
they set up roadblocks all around the old city w/thousands of security and were literally beating palestinian christians worshipers. they pulverized and elderly coptic clergyman and the video went viral! (but did not make the news in the US!!!) and israel had to make an apology to egypt because their diplomats were beaten!!!!
it was so bad palestinian christians begged their Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem to not be silent, to do something and they issued a statement concerning the Israeli security forces on Holy Saturday.
camera has a lot of gaul going after cbs when this is happening right before our eyes and it’s caught on video!.
according to resident christians they blocked off all 7 entries into the old city and tried to bar their entry with the exception of specific groups, allowing a very limited number of locals to worship in the Holy Sepulcher on Easter weekend.
i have to relax, this makes me want to pull my hair out.
”This Hollywood Reporter piece is headlined, “CBS Shareholders Accuse ’60 Minutes’ of Anti-Semitism,” but CBS seems to be yawning about it.”
The headline….’CBS Shareholders Accuse ‘…is misleading to say the least. Unless Camera is a stockholder……they were the ones at the stockholder meeting…described as ‘activist’.
Since the stockholders re elected all officers and Board members of CBS at that meeting I’d say they weren’t upset at all.
Just more Zio puff and lies.
Check out the comments section, too:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cbs-shareholders-accuse-60-minutes-555375
Three out of four recognize hasbara when they see it.
This is a switch…..
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israeli-minister-apologizes-for-accusing-u-k-of-disguised-anti-semitism-1.525573
”Israeli minister apologizes for accusing U.K. of ‘disguised anti-Semitism”’
Every time they use the old anti semite attack the accused should respond by throwing a fit and demanding an apology…. offense not defense is the way you shut them down.
The article references “Moonves”, who is Leslie Moonves, chairman and CEO of CBS. And the great-nephew of David Ben-Gurion himself.