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CNN Producers Covering Israel-Hamas War Spread Blood Libels; Denounce ‘Zionist Entity’ in Vile Social Media Posts

CNN logo. Photo: Josh Hallett / Flickr

Two journalists working for CNN and covering the current Israel-Hamas war posted a string of disturbing antisemitic and anti-Israel comments on their social media accounts, HonestReporting can reveal.

Richard Harlow, a British cameraman who is based in Beirut, has posted to his social media accounts several vile pieces of content relating to the current conflict, including one that falsely accuses the Jewish state of murdering Palestinians and stealing their organs, in what has been described as a modern-day blood libel.

In other comments online, Harlow denied Hamas has any presence in the West Bank, but accused the IDF of “killing” people there anyway.

Hamas not only operates numerous cells across the West Bank, but also commands widespread support among Palestinians in the territory.

In another post, Harlow complained that “people are still talking about decapitated babies but no one’s talking about the Palestinian babies that HAVE been murdered BY the Israelis.”

Harlow recently told friends online that he had been tasked with editing images and footage taken by a local Gazan stringer to be used by CNN. At a time when images and footage from Gaza should be under greater scrutiny, Harlow is in a position where he is responsible for potentially sensitive content that is seen by millions.

In addition, Harlow’s byline has appeared on several other pieces relating to Israel. Here is some content he has shared:

“Supporting the Zionist Entity is the Greatest Insult”

Another CNN producer based in Abu Dhabi, Mohammed Abdelbary, also has a history of posting anti-Israel hate messages online.

Abdelbary joined the network in 2021 as part of the CNN Academy, and was later hired as an associate producer for Connect the World With Becky Anderson, while also contributing to the Abu Dhabi bureau’s “Meanwhile in the Middle East” newsletter.

Congratulations to Mohammed Abdelbary, Dana Abdulrahman, and Tasmiyah Randeree, graduates of our first CNN Academy in Abu Dhabi, who are doing great work supporting our Expo coverage in Dubai.https://t.co/Kg4TLABhHb

— Becky Anderson (@BeckyCNN) October 8, 2021

Around the time that Abdelbary was accepted into the CNN Academy, he was also using the social media network Twitter (now X) to complain about the “Zionist entity” in language that is most frequently used by the Iranian regime and denies the legitimacy of the Israeli state.

In the same tweet, he accused Israel of forcibly sterilizing Ethiopian Jewish women — an incendiary charge that was proven false and saw numerous leading news organizations retract or modify the original libelous claim.

Other comments on Abdelbary’s profile that date back to 2014 — the year Hamas sparked another war with Israel by firing rocket barrages from the Gaza Strip — include “f** Israel” [original language omitted], and his wish that the Jewish state gets “crushed by the Palestinians.”

Yet, Abdelbary’s obvious bias toward Israel has not prevented him from being tasked with reporting extensively on the Israel-Hamas war, including a lead byline on a piece just 13 days after the Hamas attack that included claims Israel is committing war crimes in its immediate response to the terrorist atrocity.

He has also contributed to numerous newsletters focused on the Israel-Hamas war that are sent to CNN subscribers.

A CNN spokesperson responded to HonestReporting: “We were not aware of these posts and take what has been reported very seriously. We are now investigating the matter.”

Hours after we reached out to CNN, Abdelbary deleted his tweet in which he uses the phrase “Zionist entity” — a specific post that we flagged to CNN.

CNN’s reportage on the Israel-Hamas war has been uneven, and the outlet has caught flak on several occasions for skewed and misleading pieces. This is in stark contrast to the network’s laudable and important coverage of October 7’s victims by journalists including Jake Tapper, Bianna Golodryga, and Dana Bash, who have highlighted Hamas’ rapes, and the plight of Israeli hostages and their families.

But employing journalists who have a history of posting antisemitic and anti-Israel comments online, and then giving them the responsibility for reporting accurately and fairly on Israel, is unacceptable — and CNN should know this.

The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.

The post CNN Producers Covering Israel-Hamas War Spread Blood Libels; Denounce ‘Zionist Entity’ in Vile Social Media Posts first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Antisemitic Incidents Spiked in UK After Bob Vylan’s ‘Death to the IDF’ Chants at Glastonbury

Police officers block a street as pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather in protest against Britain’s Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s plans to proscribe the “Palestine Action” group in the coming weeks, in London, Britain, June 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy

There was a recorded rise in antisemitic incidents in the United Kingdom the day after the English punk rap duo Bob Vylan called for the death of Israeli soldiers at the Glastonbury Festival in June, according to the Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters.

CST on Wednesday published a new report detailing antisemitic incidents recorded from January to June 2025. The report stated that the highest daily total for such outrages in the first half of 2025 was 26 reported on June 29, 16 of which took place online.

On June 28, Bob Vylan vocalist Pascal Robinson-Foster led thousands in the audience to chant “Death, Death to the IDF,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces, during the band’s set at the Glastonbury music and arts festival in Somerset, England. The performance was livestreamed by the BBC.

CST said the 26 incidents reported to the charity on June 29 involved “anti-Jewish responses” to events at Glastonbury, and CST’s statement on X that described Bob Vylan’s anti-IDF chants as “utterly chilling” and “an expression of mass hatred.”

The second worst day for “anti-Jewish hatred” in the first half of the year was May 17, when 19 incidents were recorded just a day after Israel announced the expansion of its military operation in the Gaza Strip, according to CST’s new report.

“In all of these incidents, anti-Jewish language, motivation, or targeting was evident alongside the rhetoric linked to Israel or Zionism,” CST said. “Both of these cases [on June 29 and May 17] illustrate how sentiment and rhetoric towards Israel and Zionism influence, shape, and drive contemporary anti-Jewish discourse, online and offline, often around totemic events that grab mainstream public attention.”

Because of their anti-IDF comments, Bob Vylan was dropped by their talent agency, as well as festivals and concerts worldwide. The duo also had their US visas revoked, and police in the UK launched an investigation to see if the band’s anti-IDF comments are a criminal offense.

The BBC apologized for broadcasting Bob Vylan’s “offensive and deplorable behavior” in their Glastonbury performance, during which Robinson-Foster also complained about working for a “f—king Zionist” and chanted “Free, free Palestine.”

According to Wednesday’s report, the CST recorded 1,521 antisemitic incidents in the UK from January to June of this year. It marks the second-highest total of incidents ever recorded by CST in the first six months of any year, following the first half of 2024 in which 2,019 antisemitic incidents were recorded in the aftermath of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel.

Fifty-one percent of all antisemitic incidents in the first half of this year “referenced or were linked to Israel, Palestine, the Hamas terror attack (on Oct. 7, 2023) or the subsequent outbreak of conflict,” CST noted. The group also recorded 73 antisemitic assaults in the first half of the year – with an additional three physical attacks categorized as “extreme violence” – and 572 cases of online antisemitism.

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Members of IDF’s New Ultra-Orthodox Brigade Complete Combat Training

Members of the Hasmonean Brigade during their beret ceremony at the Western Wall on Aug. 6, 2024. Photo: Screenshot

The first set of troops from the Israel Defense Force’s new ultra-Orthodox Hasmonean Brigade completed seven months of basic and advanced training on Wednesday morning, when they received their dark blue berets during a ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

“The army and the Torah go together, shoulder to shoulder. One strengthens the other, ” Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Boaz Bismuth wrote in a post on X, congratulating the troops. “I bless the ‘Hasmonean’ Brigade – the first ultra-Orthodox brigade in the IDF, which completed its training course today and, in an emotional ceremony at the Western Wall, received their beret. Only together will we triumph.”

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid also congratulated the troops, saying that “there is nothing more Jewish than defending the land of Israel.”

Israel’s Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology Gila Gamliel added in a post on X that troops in the Hasmonean Brigade are “paving the way for combining faith with courage.”

“You are a symbol of dedication, mission, and contribution to the nation, and you light the path for all of us toward Israel’s unity,” she added. “Your brigade is proof that one can preserve identity while defending the homeland.”

The beret ceremony on Wednesday morning was attended by Shin Bet director and Maj. Gen. David Zini, who was crucial in the creation of the brigade, and brigade commander Col. Avinoam Emunah. Fifty ultra-Orthodox troops did a “beret march” that started in the hills of Jerusalem and ended at the Western Wall Plaza in the Old City of Jerusalem before the start of the ceremony. They blew shofars and sang songs calling for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple, according to Israel’s Arutz 7.

Members of the brigade live a Haredi lifestyle both inside and outside the army and are given special accommodations, such as at least an hour of learning Talmud every day. Around 2,700 Haredim, or ultra-Orthodox Jews, have joined the army over the past year, according to Israeli media reports.

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UK’s Royal Ballet and Opera Cancels Israel Production After Staff Members Protest

The Royal Ballet perform in a general rehearsal of “Dark with Excessive Bright” at the Royal Opera House in London, Britain, Feb. 9, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Toby Melville

The Royal Ballet and Opera has canceled a performance of Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca” at the Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv scheduled for next year after 182 anti-Israel RBO staff members signed an open letter protesting the planned performance and the organization’s support of Israel.

“We have made the decision that our new production of ‘Tosca’ will not be going to Israel,” RBO Chief Executive Alex Beard said in an internal message to staff, cited by The Guardian. He also reportedly mentioned the open letter signed anonymously by RBO staff members that was sent to him and the board on Friday.

The website of the Israeli Opera no longer includes any references to the RBO, but performances of “Tosca” are still listed for July 2026. The Royal Ballet and Opera is based at the Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden and is supported by a cast of more than 3,000 employees, according to its website.

In an open letter published by Artists for Palestine UK on Monday, RBO staff members said they “reject any current or future performances in Israel” and are committed to “withholding our productions from institutions that legitimize and economically support a state engaged in the mass killing of civilians.” They further condemned RBO’s decision to have a production of “Turandot” by Giacomo Puccini at the Israeli Opera this year. “The decision cannot be viewed as neutral. It is a deliberate alignment, materially and symbolically, with a government currently engaged in crimes against humanity,” said staff members – including dancers, singers, musicians, and backstage crew.

They then claimed that the Israeli Opera offers free tickets to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers. The RBO “is clearly making a strong political statement by allowing its production and intellectual property to be presented in a space that openly rewards and legitimizes the very forces responsible for the daily killings of civilians in Gaza,” the letter stated.

Staff members demanded that the RBO “withholds our productions from institutions that legitimize and economically support a state engaged in the mass killing of civilians.” They also condemned RBO’s “silence on Israel’s genocidal conduct” and expressed solidarity with a performer who last month raised a Palestinian flag during the curtain call of “Il trovatore” at the Royal Opera House. The staff members said the performer displayed “courage and moral clarity on our very stage.”

Video footage from the incident showed RBO’s Director of Opera Oliver Mears trying to seize the flag from the performer in front of a live, applauding audience. The open letter said Mears’ actions “sent a clear message that any visible solidarity with Palestine would be met with hostility, while the organization remains silent on the ongoing genocide.” They called for Mears “to be held accountable for his public display of aggression,” and demanded that the RBO “publicly acknowledge the genocide in Gaza” and “end its silence” regarding Israel’s actions.

“History will remember the choices we make in times of atrocity. We urge our organization not to be complicit through inaction or false neutrality,” they stated in conclusion.

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