As pertains to the ongoing war in Gaza, CBS News continues to solidify its reputation as the most pro-Hamas among the networks. A brief report on the Biden administration’s request for new military assistance for Israel quickly turned into an opportunity to echo pro-Palestinian points and observe “al-Nakba”, which loosely translates to “Catastrophe Day”.
Watch the aforementioned report in its entirety, as aired on the CBS Evening News on Wednesday, May 15th, 2024:
NORAH O’DONNELL: Turning now to the war in Gaza. The Biden administration is pushing Congress for a new billion-dollar weapons package for Israel, as so much humanitarian aid could be arriving within days for millions of Palestinians. A floating pier built by the U.S. military is now being moved into position off the Gaza coast. Food and supplies can’t come soon enough for Palestinians, who today marked al-Nakba. That’s the Arabic term for the displacement of more than 700,000 Palestinians during the creation of Israel 76 years ago.
There is a lot of actual information that was omitted from the report so that Norah O’Donnell could have the time to read the pro-Hamas talking points off of the teleprompter. For example, it is unclear when the billion-dollar military assistance package will actually arrive to Israel. But O’Donnell made sure to juxtapose that assistance with humanitarian aid due to arrive for displaced Palestinians.
Compare O’Donnell’s observance of al-Nakba with that of Michigan congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-The Squad). Their language is practically identical:
As we mark the 76th anniversary of the Nakba, we honor all the lives lost since the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians began, and the Palestinians who were forced from their homes and violently displaced from their land.
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) May 15, 2024
That is certainly one reading of history. The other is that when the British partitioned Mandatory Palestine, they created both a Jewish state and an Arab state, with the Jews accepting statehood and the Arabs refusing to live alongside the Jews. And that the real catastrophe (or nakba) happened when five Arab countries failed to expel Israel after they declared their independence a day before the start of what is now known as the Arab-Israeli War of 1948.
Whatever displacement happened, happened as the result of an eliminationist war waged against the Jewish state. Hamas’ barbaric October 7th attack has, unfortunately, triggered further needless displacement and death. This, unfortunately, is more nuance than can be crammed into a 30-second brief intended to elicit empathy for Palestine rather than to report facts.