What does a television network do when its primary function — unfiltered presentation of public events — also serves to spread rank bigotry? C-SPAN has carved out a role as the no-frills televised chronicler of political panels, congressional activity, authors’ book readings and myriad other events. C-SPAN’s Washington Journal call-in segments that have traditionally entailed the same unfettered airing of whatever a caller chooses to say, with the program’s hosts, who take the calls in the studio, typically maintaining deadpan expressions throughout caller statements.
The problem is that various hosts of the Washington Journal program have tolerated without interruption or hint of repudiation extreme anti-Semitic and slanderous anti-Israel remarks by numerous callers. These phone segments are normally aired daily within the 7AM to 10AM (Eastern) time slot. Videos of C-SPAN Washington Journal segments may be viewed here.
The rants against Jews, the Jewish religion and the Jewish State are anti-Semitic by any measure and C-SPAN’s policiy of non-intervention is plainly abetting the spread of extreme prejudice. The network, created in 1979, was intended to be a public service and to help enlighten viewers about the political process. Instead, it has abdicated the fundamental responsibility of any media outlet not to allow itself to be a platform for promoting hate.
Examples follow:
December 30, 2008
The guest on December 30, 2008 was Hisham Melhem, Washington Bureau Chief of the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya News, who dealt with the topic, “Conflict in Gaza.” During the phone-in segment, a caller at 7:53 to 7:54 AM, was allowed to proceed uninterrupted with an anti-Semitic rant by host, Robb Harleston. Nor did Melhem interject opposition to the bigoted outpouring, which can be heard here.
Excerpts:
HARLESTON: Lets take a 2nd call from Atlanta. This one on our line for Democrats. You’re on the Washington Journal. CALLER: How you doing this morning? HARSTON: Just fine Sir, go ahead.
CALLER: Okay. Listen, I feel we need to come to the problem- to the root of the problem – and I think the Jews that’s actually there in Palestine – they are pretended Jews. It’s just like white folks from South Africa (indistinct) but they went over and took the people’s land, language and their culture and then called themselves South Africans. There was Jews already over there in that land. They were darkey Jews. These European Jews – they are pretended Jews. They are the scum of the planet Earth and they are just like their father, the Devil.
December 13, 2008
“Security in South Asia” was the topic of the guest, Ashley J. Tellis of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, on the December 13, 2008 show in which an 8:28 to 8:30 AM caller voicing obviously ant-Semitic, anti-Israel remarks was allowed to carry on uninterrupted by the host, Greta Wodele- Brawner. Neither the host nor the guest repudiated the anti-Semitic screed. This call can be heard online here.
Excerpts:
HOST: Next call, Los Angeles, Democrats line, you’re on the air.
CALLER: Hello, thank you for taking my call. You can go to neoconzionistthreat.com and you can hear a call that I had for the former CIA operative – actually CIA field officer – (indistinct) Geraldi (ph) – he’s Ron Paul’s military advisor – and we were talking about the situation with Afghanistan and Pakistan and basically you had earlier callers talk about Israel and America and that whole conflict there stems from when we into Pakistan or actually into Afghanistan and now are going into Afghanistan as a result of 9/11. And what happened? How did 9/11 happen? Well, you can basically look at U.S. support for Israel’s brutal oppression of the Palestinians. That resulted in 9/11. We went into Afghanistan as a result of that and now we’re going into Pakistan. And the Indian connection here – Israelis are working hand in hand with the Indians. What do you expect these Muslims in Pakistan to do?
And the gentleman said there were six American citizens that were actually killed, you know, with the Mumbai terrorist attacks. Well, yeah, there were six members – according to my information – of the Chabad Lubavitcher outreach Jewish Chabad there. That’s a radical Orthodox Jewish supremacist cult. It dates – do you know the doctrine of that? I’m not saying all Jewish people support that – but that particular cult which has a lot of influence on American (indistinct) – and I’ll close with an article – Greta has been very kind with my time here – that is a radical cult – I mean, it is a Jewish supremacist cult – it basically says that if a Jew needs a liver, he can basically kill a non-Jew to get it. Not all Jews profess to that – so why aren’t we talking about that? It’s incredible but anyway, lastly, there’s an article that appeared in the Hindustan Times – by a friend of mine, Allan Hart, who currently has a program on Press TV – the Iranian channel – that’s titled “Hart of the Matter.” He basically warned Indian people to break the alliance with America because they’re hand in hand working with the Israelis.
HOST: Thanks, Los Angeles.
November 29, 2008
The Washington Journal “open phones” segment (no guest on hand) on November 29 hosted by Robb Harleston, asked for comments on the question, “Can terrorism be defeated?” The 7:19 to 7:21 AM call was an attack on Jews and Israel. The host allowed the caller to proceed uninterrupted and provided no response whatsoever after the call ended. This call can be heard online here.
Transcript excerpt::
HOST: Let’s go to Bethesda, Maryland, on our line for Republicans. Good morning.
CALLER: Yes. Good morning. Terrorism can be defeated, and here is how you defeat terrorism. You go to our friend, the Mossad, and you ask them to please give up on the i deology of the Talmud, that’s T-a-l-m-u-d. In the Talmud it says that the Gentiles must be exterminated as a necessary sacrifice. Now as long as you have these kinds of ideologies amongst Jewish Ashkenazis you’re never going to end terrorism. But if you can ask these Jewish Ashkenazis to give up on the idea that anyone who is not a Jew is an animal, which is what is written in the Talmud, then you’ll get the CIA and the Mossad to give up on false flag operations.
An article called “Truth about the Talmud” details very thoroughly what the Talmud says about non-Jews. It says that we’re animals and we need to be exterminated. I think that everyone should look at the on-line article, “Truth about the Talmud,” find out what Judaism says about Christians and Muslims. And then maybe we could put a stop to terrorism if we can also get the CIA to give up on false flag operations because it’s been proven that their cells were taken down in New York by (indistinct) explosives. A Mossad organization front company called “Urban Movers” was the organization that planted the explosives in Tower 1, Tower 2, and Tower 7. Everyone should look at the documentary “Terror Storm” and you will see the maintenance engineer of the twin towers center saying the security cameras were shut down three weeks prior to 9/11 so they could plant the explosives.
HOST: Thanks for your call. Somerville, New York, on our line for Democrats.
November 29, 2008
In the same November 29 segment as above, a 7:25 to 7:27 AM caller made wild, baseless accusations against Israel. Yet, again, the host, Robb Harleston, allowed the call to proceed uninterrupted and provided no response whatsoever after the call ended.
Transcript excerpt:
HOST: Knoxville, Tennessee. You’re next on the Washington Journal. Hello.
CALLER: Hello. I think that all what we are saying is sense but the largest sense would be to squeeze Israel to give the independent state to the Palestinians instead of wiping them off from the surface of the earth. That creates what we are doing, supporting Israel in doing that without putting any pressure on it makes the Arabs and Muslim world, the largest, angry at us, and we could easily force Israel to behave, to just stop giving them money for awhile and giving them arms, and they would behave. We could secure their independence, we could secure the existence of Israel, but we have also to admit that there are other people who want also to live. And we have to support that. Otherwise, it’s going to worse and worse. It started as a local conflict of Israel against Palestinians, then we invaded Iraq because we wanted to help Israelis. Now we are in Afghanistan, in Pakistan, now it’s India. It is just absolutely crazy.
HOST: Hampton, Virginia, on our line for Democrats. Go ahead.
C-SPAN is no longer a national asset as a vehicle for public enlightenment; its policy of allowing bigotry to be spewed on the air while its hosts listen passively and expressionless — as though the lies and hatred uttered were unremarkable and warranted no word of criticism — makes the network a national disgrace.