Forbes’ Al Aqsa Libel: Ben-Gvir, 100s of Jewish Israelis ‘Enter’ Mosque

By: Tamar Sternthal August 18, 2024

Aug. 18 UPDATE, 4:00 PM EST:

Forbes Blocks Viewers' Access to Video

Following publication of this post and communication with Forbes' leadership today, editors have made the YouTube video private, meaning that only the account administrator can view it. It is no longer available to viewers. CAMERA commends Forbes for essentially removing the video.

Channeling the Qatari-run Al Jazeera and the government-controlled Turkish Anadolu Agency, Forbes falsely reported last week that Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, along with hundreds of others, entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. The fallacious chyron appearing at the bottom of the screen for the entire duration of Forbes' Aug. 13 video is identical to the clip's headline, which is: "Israeli security minister Ben-Gvir, Hundreds of Israelis Enter Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque to Pray."

While Muslim Israelis may have entered Al Aqsa Mosque to pray that day, Ben-Gvir and the hundreds of Israeli Jews who accompanied him did not enter the mosque. Any Muslim Israeli who may have entered the Mosque to pray were not part of the group of hundreds of Israeli Jews who accompanied Ben-Gvir. 

The mosque, Islam's third holiest site, is located on the vast Temple Mount plaza, also referred to as the Noble Sanctuary (Haram al-Sharif in Arabic; Har Habayit in Hebrew), Judaism's holiest site. Ben-Gvir and Jewish visitors remained outdoors only on the Temple Mount plaza, and did not step foot inside the Al Aqsa mosque. The accompanying video shows Ben-Gvir and the Jewish visitors outdoors on the plaza. Tellingly, there is not a single frame of them inside the mosque because they never stepped foot inside.

Indeed, Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned Ben-Gvir's visit to "visit to the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount," and notably not to the Al Aqsa Mosque because the Israeli visitor and the hundreds who joined him did not visit the mosque.

CAMERA informed Forbes of the error last week. The media outlet, which promises the "highest standards for quality and trustworthy journalism," has yet to correct. 

Forbes boasts safeguards, maintaining:

We take facts seriously, making clear updates when corrections are warranted and fact-checking major and investigative stories by a team of trained staff journalists. All work published on Forbes must steer clear of hate speech, unnecessarily sensational content, distortion, exaggeration, bias, carelessness, half-truths and deceit.

The falsehood that Ben-Gvir and hundreds of Jewish Israelis entered the mosque is a sensational, distorted deceit in line with extreme anti-Israel propaganda aimed at provoking violent attacks targeting Israelis. Where is the correction promised by a serious Western media institution which says it takes facts seriously?

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