Kerry Warns Israel Could Become an 'Apartheid State;' Networks Silent
Monday evening's broadcast network newscasts ignored Secretary of State John
Kerry saying that Israel risks becoming an "apartheid state" if it
doesn't adopt a two-state solution with Palestine. Kerry made the
comments on Friday in a closed-door meeting, and the ensuing outrage
extended to both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill.
"A two-state solution will be clearly underscored as the only real
alternative. Because a unitary state winds up either being an apartheid
state with second-class citizens—or it ends up being a state that
destroys the capacity of Israel to be a Jewish state," Kerry said, in
comments reported by the Daily Beast. The uproar over his comment forced the State Department to issue a clarification, and Kerry apologized on Monday.
House
Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) called on Kerry to apologize on
Monday. Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said his use of
"apartheid" was "nonsensical and ridiculous." Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.)
called for Kerry's resignation. Yet despite the hullabaloo over his
remarks, the broadcast networks ignored the latest developments in the
story.
Kerry issued a statement on Monday evening apologizing for his choice of words:
"I have been around long enough to also know the power of words to create a misimpression, even when unintentional, and if I could rewind the tape, I would have chosen a different word to describe my firm belief that the only way in the long term to have a Jewish state and two nations and two peoples living side by side in peace and security is through a two state solution."
— Matt Hadro is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Matt Hadro on Twitter.
