Daily Beast reporter Eli Lake threw cold water on the idea that media coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was pro-Israel Monday on Ronan Farrow Daily.
After a rant by MSNBC contributor Rula Jebreal where she complained Palestinian voices didn't receive equal airtime on the network, which included the strange claim that Prime Minsiter Benjamin Netanyahu would be granted a 25-minute interview, Farrow turned to Lake and asked whether the U.S. media was slanted in favor of Israel.
"I'm kind of baffled honestly by what Rula was just saying there," Lake said. "Israel has experienced terrible press when you have these pictures of dead Gazans and you see these casualties. I think the media has been covering that for what it is, which is a terrible human tragedy, and the response from often Israeli officials in U.S. and Western media in general has often been very defensive ... I think that Israel has a lot of support because there's a kind of cultural affinity between Americans and Israelis. They see them as less foreign in a lot of ways than they do with Palestinians, but that's a much deeper question. I don't think it can be explained by lobbyists or the political process."
Jebreal cut off Lake and said the pro-Israeli viewpoint was the only view expressed, to which Lake retorted she was speaking on behalf of the Palestinians at that moment. Farrow also pointed out MSNBC had broadcast Palestinian voices.