How did PBS, which has displayed anti-Israel bias while whitewashing the radical nature of Hamas and its American supporters, handle the tragic anniversary Monday of Hamas’s invasion of Israel, which resulted in the murder of 1200 civilians, including women and babies, and the taking of over 200 hostages? Poorly -- focusing on Gaza and Hamas, just as they have every other day of the year, and now Lebanon, mourning over deaths ultimately caused by Hezbollah.
Sunday’s PBS News Weekend used a mother’s grief over her hostage son to push a ceasefire that would only benefit the losers, the terrorists (“militants,” in PBS-speak) of Hamas.
Anchor John Yang: During the October 7 attacks on Israel, about 250 men, women and children were abducted by Hamas militants and taken to Gaza. 117 have been freed and eight others rescued by Israeli soldiers. But for the loved ones of the more than 60 hostages believed to still be alive, the past year has been a nightmare without end. Nick Schifrin spoke with the mother of one of those who is still being held captive.
Alon Ohel was kidnapped from the Nova music festival, “the deadliest location of the deadliest day in Israeli history.” There’s been no proof of life offered since.
Nick Schifrin: Like many hostage families, [mother Idit Ohel] urged the government to accept a ceasefire, especially after Hamas murdered six hostages last month.
Also on Sunday, special PBS News Hour correspondent Leila Molana-Allen, whose reporting for PBS over the last year betrays her anti-Israel partisanship, reported from Beirut and showed nothing but sympathy for Lebanon, which has harbored the anti-Israel terrorist group Hezbollah for decades.
Molana-Allen “both-sided” this morally one-sided conflict.
Molana-Allen: Israel says that this fight is against Hezbollah, but much of the infrastructure they`re hitting, we are seeing huge civilian high rises being hit…..what we`ve seen is the complete dehumanization of civilians on both sides of this conflict, whichever side it is that one supports and a real lack of what used to be the fundamental principle here, that civilians must be protected in all cases….
On Friday’s News Hour, anchor Amna Nawaz focused on Gaza.
Anchor Amna Nawaz: Monday marks one year since the October 7 Hamas terror attacks on Israel. Over this last year, the Israeli bombing and invasion of Gaza has exacted a terrible price on Gaza's people, with an estimation that one out of every 20 people has been killed or wounded. "News Hour" videographer Shams Odeh in Gaza worked with producer Zeba Warsi and Nick Schifrin to bring us this report on a year in hell.
PBS News anchor Geoff Bennett opened Monday evening’s show with the proper tone:
Geoff Bennett: Welcome to the "News Hour." It was one year ago today that Hamas gunman launched a surprise terror attack on Israel, killing and wounding thousands and abducting hundreds more. In Israel and around the world, memorials marked a year of loss, a year of trauma, and a year of war that is still unfolding. It was not yet dawn. Still, families of Israel's victims had already gathered to remember, lighting candles and choking back tears for the more than 360 people who were killed at the site of a music festival one year ago. When the sun finally rose, club music echoed. It was the last song that festivalgoers heard on October 7, 2023, before the shooting started, and in pain laid bare the solemn ceremony pierced by the anguished wail of a victim's relative. Families spoke of the moment that everything changed.
Yet even on the solemn day of commemoration, Bennett had to remind everyone of Gaza.
Bennett: For many Palestinians, there was grief for the 42,000 Gazans that local health officials say have been killed since the war began. And there was anger for what many Palestinians are calling a genocide at the hands of the Israelis.
Bennett concluded with a “both-sides” sentence:
Bennett: For some, today marks a grim milestone, for others, another day in a life upended by a war with no end in sight.
Later in the show, correspondent Nick Schifrin properly checked in on Kibbutz Be’eri near the Gaza Strip, a cluster assaulted by Hamas on October 7.
Nick Schifrin: Be'eri's 1,000 residents lived in about three square miles, invaded by more than 340 gunmen, some wearing Israeli uniforms, civilians killed point blank, dead bodies discarded or denied any dignity and taken back to Gaza, a couple embracing each other burned alive….
Bonus slant: the PBS show Amanpour & Co. sent this email on the anniversary day of Oct. 7. The subject line foregrounded Gaza, not Israel’s suffering: “Palestinian Journalist on Gaza: “There Are Situations Your Heart Can’t Take.” (The email itself led with a summary of a show segment with the mother of Israeli hostage Romi Gonen.)
