The News You Didn’t Hear About This Week: Friday August 7, 2026

By: David Gerstman August 7, 2026

Famously, the slogan “All the News That’s Fit to Print” graces the front page of every New York Times edition. The slogan was coined at the end of the 19th century by the paper’s publisher, Adolph Ochs. Of course, in today’s hyper-globalized world, the slogan is wishful thinking. No paper could realistically cover all the important news stories of the day.

Still, it would be hard to argue that outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and others adequately cover even those stories they do print. They often devote precious space to emotive or opinionated claims, while omitting highly material and relevant information that sheds important new light.

Provided below are three important, but underreported, stories bearing on Israel and the Middle East that media consumers should know this week.

Michigan AG Nessel Avoiding State Democratic Convention Due to Antisemitism Fears

At a televised roundtable on antisemitism in Michigan last week, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced last week that she would not attend Michigan’s Democratic nominating convention out of fears of harassment and antisemitism.

“I feel like my presence isn’t going to be welcome. I don’t want to get chased around. I don’t want to get harassed. I don’t want to get yelled and screamed at. I don’t want to get booed off the stage, irrespective of what I’m saying,” Nessel said.

She added, “And I believe that if I go, that is what will happen because it’s been happening to me.”
Nessel’s concerns are not unfounded. They mirrored sentiments expressed by Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI) following the Michigan Democratic Party convention in April.

After the convention McDonald Rivet exhorted:

We don’t name-call. We don’t belittle and bully. We don’t shout people down. We don’t make them feel unwelcome or unsafe based on who they are. We reject all forms of hate, including both antisemitism and Islamophobia.

McDonald Rivet also expressed her concerns about the “extremists” nominated at the convention, noting that one had called “Tucker Carlson ‘a real one,’ Hezbollah leaders ‘martyrs,’” and had been “amplifying Qasem Soleimani.”

Jewish Insider reported that she was referring to lawyer, Amir Makled, who ousted Jordan Acker in the race for a seat on the University of Michigan Board of Regents. Acker, who is Jewish and opposed divestment from Israeli companies, “was repeatedly harassed and had his home vandalized by anti-Israel demonstrators.”

The harassment wasn’t just name-calling. In June, the Department of Justice indicted eight individuals for the attempts to “threaten University of Michigan leaders, law enforcement, and businesses, including the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.”

Acker’s home was vandalized in Dec. 2024 in what was described as an “antisemitic attack.” Over a year and a half later, Michigan’s top Jewish state official fears harassment at her own party’s convention. This also coincides with electoral victories by two men who are described as “critics of Israel.” The sustained incidence of antisemitic harassment has not been reported much in the American media. The connection between “criticism of Israel” and antisemitism has also been ignored.

Refuting the Famine Libel, UNICEF Study Finds Low Rates of Malnutrition in Gaza

A recent study commissioned by UNICEF found that the acute malnutrition rate in Gaza ranged from 0.2% to 0.8% using the WHZ – weight-for-height z-score – measure. Before the war, the acute malnutrition rate was 0.8%.

Using a different measure, MUAC – mid-upper-arm circumference – the acute malnutrition rate was 1.3%. Israel’s Foreign Ministry pointed out that this percentage is low for the Middle East. Acute malnutrition rates in Jordan (2.3%), Egypt (3.3%), Saudi Arabia (3.9%), Iraq (3.9%) and Syria (12%) are higher.

Mark Zlochin, who has been studying the nutrition data in Gaza observed:

Advocacy groups continue to describe Gaza’s children as facing a starvation crisis engineered by deliberate policy. The new nutritional data – collected under UN supervision using the same rigorous methodology applied in humanitarian settings worldwide – flatly contradict that narrative.

This report is one more indication that the population of Gaza is not suffering from famine conditions.

Last year, many news organizations were using the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification network (IPC) report that Gaza was suffering from famine. CAMERA pointed out that the reported mortality rates from hunger did not support the report’s finding of famine because it contradicted the IPC’s criteria for declaring a famine.

News organizations – including the Associated Press, NPR, the Los Angeles Times, BBC and NBC –  are invested in the narrative that Israel’s war with Hamas has caused a famine in Gaza. But the actual data never supported it. Will they start acknowledging and correcting their false reporting?

Ireland’s Flying Blind Hatred of Israel

Ireland recently received delivery of a new jet to fly its government officials. The Dassault Falcon 6X, which cost €53 million, was delivered to Irish Air Corps last December, but without a key piece of equipment.

Ynet reported that Ireland refused to include the advanced FalconEye system on the jet because it would require a procurement contract with Elbit Systems, an Israeli defense contractor. In 2024, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, the current Irish prime minister, committed the Irish government to boycott Israeli products.

According to early reports, the absence of FalconEye would make landing the plane more challenging in foggy conditions. The Irish government pushed back against those claims saying that there are “no current limits on the operational capability of the aircraft.”

Citing sources familiar with the technology, Ynet reported “the absence of FalconEye reduces the range of options available to pilots during poor weather and extremely low visibility.”

Rather than support Israel or benefit from Israeli technology, the Irish government prefers to fly blind.

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