MAY 4, 2022 UPDATE:
MSNBC Corrects
After CAMERA informed MSNBC of the problems detailed here, MSNBC issued a correction in the form of social media post. See below for a detailed update.
During a segment of Katy Tur Reports on Monday, May 2, fellow MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell spoke about the recent comments made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in which he attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, by claiming that Adolf Hitler had Jewish blood, too. In response, Mitchell made the following claim about Israel and its relations with Russia:
“It’s so complicated because Israel was trying, trying so hard to be neutral, even at the point of upsetting the White House and their closest ally, the U.S., by not condemning Russia, by keeping Russia close, not joining the human rights vote against Russia at the United Nations because they need Russia militarily...”
This statement is objectively false in more than one way.
First, Israel has explicitly condemned Russia both for its invasion of Ukraine and for committing war crimes in Ukraine.
MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell speaking on May 2, 2022.
Second, Israel did vote against Russia at the United Nations on all three occasions it had the opportunity to do so at the General Assembly since the Russian invasion began, including on resolutions A/RES/ES-11/1, A/RES/ES-11/2, and A/RES/ES-11/3 on March 2, March 24, and April 7 respectively. Israel is not a member of the UN Security Council, nor of the UN Human Rights Council, where the other resolutions were introduced and voted on.
This is the second time in recent days that an MSNBC host has claimed Israel has not adequately supported the United States position on the issue of Ukraine. The day before, on May 1, Mehdi Hasan accused Israel “not fully backing the U.S. position on Ukraine,” comments which CAMERA has addressed here.
Update: MSNBC Corrects
After CAMERA informed MSNBC of the erroneous statements regarding Israel's position towards Russia in relation to the latter's invasion of Ukraine, the Katy Tur Reports show published the following correction on Twitter:
During Monday’s show, an NBC News correspondent made an unscripted comment that Israel had not condemned Russia over Ukraine. This was incorrect. Israel has condemned Russia at the U.N. The context of the report was Israel's justified reaction to Lavrov’s anti-Semitic remarks.
We commend MSNBC for its prompt response to our request and for issuing the correction.