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 [1] by the Daily Beast. The uproar over his comment forced [2] the State Department to issue a clarification, and Kerry apologized [3] 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."