It seems that Israel's media outlets are not very interested in issues that concern the Jewish people. In the Israeli media, the "Jewish world" refers to violent demonstrations by the extremist haredi Jerusalem faction, special reports on Jewish Nobel laureates or the March of the Living, but not much else.
And yet, we have in recent days been forced to contend with what is an unexpected report from a global news channel that interrupted its regularly scheduled programming to remind viewers it will be broadcasting a special investigative report on anti-Semitism in the West. I am of course referring to an investigative report by CNN. The network has covered anti-Semitic incidents in the past; swastikas spray-painted on the walls of Jewish institutions, the desecration of tombstones in Jewish cemeteries, and of course the massacre of 11 Jews in a Pittsburgh synagogue. But these incidents were not seamlessly woven into one larger, comprehensive picture that showed through the help of public opinion polls that anti-Semitic incidents are indeed on the rise in the free, democratic West.
In U.S. criminal coverage, anti-Semitic incidents are defined as "hate crimes," the same term given to news coverage of racist attacks, that is, attacks on the African American population or Jewish institutions. And here, it is CNN of all networks, certainly not America's leading news network that is flooding the world's citizens with the truth about the extent of modern anti-Semitism. This extensive coverage is led by Clarissa Ward, CNN's chief international correspondent. She wandered around Europe, and through her in-depth put a spotlight on the rising tide of anti-Semitism in the West.
In Israel, by contrast, the voices heard in the media are not strong enough to inculcate the bleak reality among Israel's residents and the global population: The targeting of the Jewish people is not over. Those who carry the torch of hatred are not just a few, racist loners but members of the radical Left and Right, and of course also radical Islam. Through its brilliant journalistic operation, CNN has issued a warning, and it would befit world leaders and their governments to take a look at their TV screens and act to eliminate the scourge that refuses to disappear.
One mustn't ignore the fact that CNN is fulfilling its journalistic obligations while under attack by U.S. President Donald Trump, who in numerous speeches and tweets has called the network "fake news" in an effort to undermine the media's credibility. He criticized the network in speeches he delivered throughout his presidential election campaign and continued to do so while in office. This, of course, poses a serious threat to the freedom of the press; there is no other way to put it. CNN's reporting on global anti-Semitism is proof of how important it is to have a free, independent and investigative press.
