Christiane Amanpour Attacks the Jewish State’s “Morality”

It has been long and well established that Iranian-British journalist Christiane Amanpour is far from a neutral observer on anything to do with Israel. Her animus toward the Jewish state has so much informed her reporting that CNN was forced to redress some of the numerous errors and distortions in her inflammatory and propagandistic series entitled “God’s Warriors.”

On March 1, she used her journalist’s platform to vilify Israel in an interview with former defense secretary William Cohen about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  

“…Israel is a nuclear state, but Israel is also a U.S. ally and did not support the United States-backed resolution in the Security Council after all the times the U.S. has bent over backwards to support Israel, all the time at the U.N. and in all global forums. I mean, can you even understand why Israel has not gone precisely for the reasons you have said, to read Putin the riot act? Why not? And shouldn’t the United States be urging them to do that?..

…I have to say I’m really stunned like you that this hasn’t really, you know, affected Israel, where their morality is.”

She amplified her point by tweeting a clip from the interview under the text:

“Israel is a close ally of the US yet has not supported the US over Ukraine. ‘I’m deeply disappointed that they have not supported the United States,’ says former US Defense Secretary William Cohen. ‘They do have to make a decision here.’”

Cohen had, in fact, articulated some understanding of Israel’s “conflict of interest” due to  “security concerns” about its position next door to Syria, an Iranian proxy, whose airspace Russia controls. Amanpour, on the other hand, was full of scathing contempt for Israel’s “morality” with no nuance about the fine line Israel was trying to draw between condemning Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine and what might be interpreted as a declaration of war on Russia.

Thus, Israel voted to condemn the Russian invasion in a United Nations General Assembly resolution but did not agree to co-sponsor a similar Security Council resolution – which, as a non-member, it could not vote on and which Russia, as a member, would certainly veto. It airlifted 100 tons of medical and humanitarian aid to the Ukraine but did not agree to supply the Ukraine with military equipment. Israelis have demonstrated against Russian aggression, gone to fight alongside Ukrainians, and have stood and prayed in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, and Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennet offered to serve as mediator between the Ukraine and Russia. 

Indeed, leaders of every country are weighing the possible consequences of their decisions in deciding how to deal with Russia. These are informed by the circumstances and factors unique to their specific countries.

The extent of Israel’s support for Ukraine and condemnation of Russia is a source of controversy and debate, both within and outside the country, but by erasing Israel’s valid security concerns and singling out Israel alone for its inferior “morality,” the journalist yet again seems to be projecting an intense bias against the Jewish state.

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