A CNN anchor claimed that Israeli propagandists are distorting the truth behind the terrorist attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and trying to sow anti-Muslim sentiment on Wednesday evening.
Repeatedly stating that it was his "Friday night" and he just wanted to relax, CNN anchor Jim Clancy argued on Twitter that the Charlie Hebdo cartoons did not actually mock the Islamic prophet Muhammad and claimed that those who disagreed with him were part of a pro-Israel propaganda campaign.
Clancy appears to have removed some of the more inflammatory tweets, but several still remain on his Twitter page. A spokesperson for CNN did not respond to request for comment.
"The cartoons NEVER mocked the Prophet," wrote Clancy on Wednesday night. "They mocked how the COWARDS tried to distort his word."
When this claim was disputed by some of his followers, Clancy suggested they were engaging in "hasbara," an Israeli PR effort.
"Get a grip junior," Clancy wrote to @HumanRights2K, a Belgium-based human rights news feed. "It’s my Friday night. You and the Hasbara team need to pick on some cripple at the edge of the herd."
Clancy also tweeted "hasbara" in response to a comment from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Oren Kessler, and added, "The Hasbara (Israeli explaining the inconsistencies of Human Rights) team has declared victory over [me]. Next up, [International Criminal Court]." The second tweet appears to have been removed.
Clancy went on to accuse pro-Israel blogger Elder of Ziyon and a Twitter user called @JewsMakingNews of being "part of a campaign to do PR for Israel." The tweet has also been removed.
Jews Making News is an anti-Semitic Twitter feed devoted to "exposing" alleged Jewish global domination and promoting Holocaust-denial. It is unclear why Clancy named either of the Twitter users as Israeli PR agents.
Clancy’s followers appeared baffled by his allegations, with one asking "Are you drunk right now or something?"
This was not the first time Clancy, who covers foreign affairs, made controversial comments related to Israel. He was criticized last April after he asked former Israeli ambassador Dore Gold whether Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu "personally order[ed]" airstrikes on Gaza as a response to a unity deal between Fatah and Hamas. Clancy also praised the deal as a way to bring "fresh blood" into the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
Clancy linked to an article in July by Israel lobby conspiracy theorist Stephen Walt headlined "AIPAC is the Only Explanation for America’s Morally Bankrupt Israel Policy." Clancy wrote that the article "connects the dots for Americans who want to know why US Mideast policy is a mess."
Clancy also gave a visiting lecture in 2013 for journalists with the Jordan Media Institute. The organization was criticized for promoting Ahlam Tamimi, one of the participants in the 2001 Sbarro restaurant bombing in Israel, as a journalistic "success model."
The bombing killed 15 and injured 130. Tamimi was released as part of a prisoner exchange in 2011, and went on to host a Hamas TV show.