The director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) blasted MSNBC — while he was appearing on the left-leaning broadcaster — for referring to Hamas terrorists as “fighters” and trying to rationalize the surprise attack against Israel that killed more than 700 people over the weekend.
Speaking with the network Monday morning, Jonathan Greenblatt said he took issue with the coverage of Saturday’s massacre in Israel and the violent fallout, claiming MSNBC and other media organizations were not fairly portraying the plight of his nation.
“I am angry with the world that allowed the dehumanization of Israelis and sanitized the view of Hamas,” Greenblatt said. “I love this show and network, but who’s writing the scripts?
“The people who did this are not fighters, they are not militants…They are terrorists,” he added. “It is a barbarian who rapes and brutalizes women, who kills children in front of their parents and then brings them over to Gaza.”
Greenblatt said the videos and images of Saturday’s violence proved that the Jewish State was hit with a horrendous atrocity committed by extremists, likening it to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and to the atomic bomb explosion during World War II in Nagasaki, Japan.
Given the heinous actions committed by Hamas, Greenblatt asserted that it was inappropriate for MSNBC and others to describe it as just another outbreak of violence between Israel and Palestine.
“People who say, ‘This was an escalation, it was bound to happen,’ I am sorry, this was a massacre that was preplanned,” he said. “This was not destined to happen.”
The ALD director also criticized news organizations for their coverage of Israel’s counteroffensive, which followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vow of vengeance.
“Please stop calling this a retaliation,” Greenblatt said. “This is a defensive measure against an organization that is committed to one thing: killing Jews.”
Gaza health officials reported that at least 300 Palestinians have been killed in the counterattack, including civilians, with another 2,200 injured.
With the violence in Gaza carrying on as Israel waged war on the terrorist group, Greenblatt urged the media to focus on the voices of the victims in the Jewish State,
“Please talk to the Israeli mothers and fathers who have lost their children, Talk to the grandchildren whose grandparents were seized as hostages,” he said. “Guys, get the story right.”
On Saturday, the ADL called on the world to support Israel in its defense and counterattack against Hamas, whose members also killed at least nine Americans over the weekend and kidnapped more than 100 people.
“Israel has the indisputable right to defend itself against the Iran-backed Hamas terror organization,” The group said in a statement. “The missiles aimed at Israeli towns and the terrorists infiltrating villages are no less than war crimes as they target civilians.
“We call on responsible members of the international community to take concrete actions both in support of Israel and against those who support the Palestinian terrorists.”