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Israeli Hostages Were Brutally Executed; The Media Told the World That They ‘Died’
Rachel Goldberg-Polin delivering a eulogy at her son’s funeral in Jerusalem on Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Taken by author
There’s not much worse than waking up to the news that six Israeli hostages had been murdered by their Hamas captors just days before their bodies were found by the IDF.
And yet, some media outlets tried to paint their vicious murders as “deaths.” Deaths — as if they passively died of natural causes.
On Sunday, senior Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq blamed the six hostages’ “deaths” on Israel’s inability to agree to a ceasefire, and the United States’ continued support of “the war of genocide,” based on its “bias” for Israel. He then proceeded to claim they were killed by an Israeli airstrike.
An official autopsy revealed; however, that all six were murdered with several gunshot wounds to the head and other parts of the body just 48 hours prior.
Sure enough, a Hamas announcement on Monday officially declared that hostage guards were instructed on “how to handle” their captives if the IDF comes close to finding or rescuing them. The instructions were put in place after the June 8 rescue mission which brought back four hostages alive from captivity in Nuseirat.
This psychological warfare tactic should make the very real threat obvious.
But of course, just as mainstream media outlets were quick to latch onto their own diminishing buzz words on Sunday, they are still in use even after Hamas’ new “policy” announcement.
Here are some of the disastrous headlines that HonestReporting and others have picked up since the tragic news broke Sunday morning.
This latest headline from the BBC was published overnight Tuesday.
Further, the first sentence of the article says this:
Benjamin Netanyahu has asked for “forgiveness” from Israelis for failing to return six hostages found dead in Gaza on Saturday, as Hamas warned more could be “returned to their families in shrouds” if a ceasefire isn’t reached.
The word deaths or dead changes everything about how this reads. There have been tens of hostages returned dead, and the outcry has not been quite this loud. Hundreds of thousands of protestors filled Israel’s streets, and the country’s largest labor union called for a complete economic strike. It is not just because more bodies were found.
The context missing in these very crucial first words as well as the headline, is that they were murdered by Hamas just before potential rescue. They were alive, some first on the list slated for release in a potential hostage deal. That is the reason for anguish and anger.
This isn’t a political statement, it is just a specificity in order to help readers understand why this is different, what actually happened to them… and where the outrage stems from.
But coverage of the six hostages’ tragic circumstances began with this:
Hersh “has died,” says @CNN in its opening paragraph.
Readers shouldn’t have to wait until the 11th paragraph to learn that, according to the IDF, he and five other hostages, were brutally murdered by Hamas.https://t.co/bdpkcK59yz pic.twitter.com/pnSKYjF7Mr
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) September 1, 2024
Unfortunately, CNN chose not to lead with the truth, saying Hersh Goldberg-Polin “has died,” referring to his “death” once more, and then quoting an IDF official statement explaining how he was actually murdered by Hamas terrorists just shortly before he was found.
This despicable delaying of facts is misleading, to say the least.
The same can be said of this embarrassingly mild headline from USA Today:
No, @USATODAY, Hersh didn’t just die. He was murdered. By Hamas terrorists.https://t.co/GtxsvbfybJ pic.twitter.com/hEkaZDa60j
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) September 1, 2024
Did Hersh die peacefully in his sleep or after a long battle with an illness? This headline suggests it.
But alas, he was murdered. By who, we may ask? You would not know the context just from scrolling by the headline on the site’s front page.
Say it: Hersh was brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists after 11 months of captivity.
The article also says that 1,200 Israelis died during the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel. Does this word have a different connotation than we think?
The IDF and Hostages Families Forum are quoted halfway down the article to clarify it was indeed murder. But why not lead with that?
Despite The New York Times backtracking on this headline below, their initial response was to misquote US President Joe Biden:
President Biden specifically referred to “the hostages killed by these vicious Hamas terrorists.”
Hersh and the others were murdered. But @nytimes even distorts the President’s words to avoid saying it.https://t.co/EJddU57KIh pic.twitter.com/cPljzKZE7R
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) September 1, 2024
Biden actually said this: “We have now confirmed that one of the hostages killed by these vicious Hamas terrorists was an American citizen, Hersh Goldberg-Polin.” [emphasis added]
There was more.
These CBS and NBC articles not only minimized the circumstances of the hostages’ death in their headlines, but they both misquoted and then completely omitted this part of Biden’s statement completely:
It’s a shame that the media can’t just be accurate. It’s not a complicated story. So why make it so, by playing word games and pushing agendas?
The Campaign to Absolve Hamas on Social Media
Meanwhile, on social media, anti-Israel figures like Muhammad Shehada of Euro-Med Monitor NGO also used mounting domestic Israeli frustration with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a weapon to amplify Hamas’ denial of responsibility and put it all on Israel for not closing a hostage and ceasefire deal.
It’s important to note that regardless of Netanyahu’s political narrative, this doesn’t diminish Hamas’ responsibility for committing murder and for starting this war in the first place.
Israeli media is near unanimously blaming Netanyahu & Israel’s gov for the death of the six hostages whose bodies were found yesterday & who were alive until very recently
Israeli media admits: Netanyahu is the one refusing the deal
Why is none of that being reported in the US? pic.twitter.com/rA94esdVKu
— Muhammad Shehada (@muhammadshehad2) September 1, 2024
That there is currently political turmoil within Israel over policies concerning the fate of the hostages and the desire of some to pursue continuing military pressure on Hamas is the product of a democratic society still traumatized and trying to come to grips with the impossible dilemmas inherent in this appalling situation.
Compare and contrast with the Palestinian arena, where Hamas never gave its own people any choice when it embarked upon its October 7 massacre, knowing full well that the consequences would be enormous.
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.
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Trump Nominates Marco Rubio for US Secretary of State
US Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, Sept. 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday confirmed that he will nominate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) to serve as secretary of state in his incoming administration, a potential signal that the next White House will take a more adversarial posture toward Iran.
Trump’s confirmation came a couple days after several media outlets reported that he was expected to tap Rubio, 53, to head the US State Department. The move to place a lawmaker known for his hawkish foreign policy views as the nation’s top diplomat has mollified concerns among some critics that the second Trump administration would adopt a more isolationist approach to international affairs.
“Marco is a Highly Respected Leader, and a very powerful Voice for Freedom. He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said in an official statement. “I look forward to working with Marco to Make America, and the World, Safe and Great Again!”
Rubio issued a brief statement advocating an approach of “peace through strength” to international relations.
“As Secretary of State, I will work every day to carry out his foreign policy agenda. Under the leadership of President Trump we will deliver peace through strength and always put the interests of Americans and America above all else,” Rubio said on X/Twitter.
Since his election to the Senate in 2010, Rubio has developed a reputation as a foreign policy hawk, advocating for greater investments in the US military and a tougher approach to adversaries such as Iran, China, Cuba, and Venezuela.
Rubio’s policy views have previously resulted in conflict with more isolationist members of the Republican Party, who have argued that the US should step back from international conflicts and increase focus on domestic issues.
The selection of Rubio also indicates the incoming Trump administration will be diplomatically supportive of Israel.
In the year following the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7, Rubio has steadfastly signaled his support for the Jewish state, resisting calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and underscoring the importance of Israel achieving a decisive win against Hamas.
He stated in October 2023 that Israel has “no choice but to seek the complete eradication of Hamas in Gaza,” adding that “this tragically necessary effort will come at a horrifying price” and that “the price of failing to permanently eliminate this group of sadistic savages is even more horrifying.”
In May 2024, the senator cautioned that the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terrorist organization in Lebanon, could soon break out into full-scale war.
“The imperative that Israel has at some point to address it, even though there’s a real threat there of a full-scale war with Hezbollah, which militarily is a lot more challenging and destructive,” Rubio said.
Last month, Rubio condemned Iran’s direct attack against Israel after the Iranian regime fired a barrage of nearly 200 ballistic missiles at the Jewish state.
“I urge the reimposition of a maximum pressure campaign against Iran and fully support Israel’s right to respond disproportionately to stop this threat. The United States will continue to stand with Israel,” Rubio said in a statement.
Rubio has also assigned blame to Iran for fomenting instability and chaos in the Middle East, adding that the regime has also acted as the “primary” oppressor of its own civilians.
“The primary source of violence, conflict, suffering, and instability in the Middle East is the criminal ‘Islamic Republic’ regime which has also oppressed the people of [Iran] for almost [45] years,” Rubio said on X/Twitter.
Beyond Rubio, Trump has also handpicked other administration members with pro-Israel bonafides. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), a lawmaker who has gone viral for her blistering repudiations of university presidents over their response campus antisemitism, has been selected to serve as ambassador to the United Nations. Trump also selected Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) to serve as his next national security adviser.
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Trump’s Top National Security Picks Have Expressed Strongly Pro-Israel, Anti-Iran Views
US President Donald Trump is interviewed by then-Fox and Friends co-host Pete Hegseth at the White House in Washington, US, April 6, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President-elect Donald Trump’s selections for national security adviser and defense secretary have a history of making statements in support of Israel’s right to defend itself from neighboring threats.
In the week following his resounding victory at the polls, Trump has swiftly moved to fill his incoming cabinet with allies of Israel.
Among his top national security picks, the president-elect has chosen US. Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) to serve as his national security adviser and nominated Fox News host and Army National Guard officer Pete Hegseth as the next secretary of defense.
Waltz, a Green Beret and former Pentagon policy adviser, has developed a hawkish reputation on foreign policy matters. He supported Israel’s retaliatory strikes against Iran in October, arguing that the Jewish state should target Kharg Island, a major hub of the regime’s oil exports. The representative also suggested that Israel attack Iran’s nuclear facilities outside of Tehran. The lawmaker has openly criticized the Biden administration for allegedly holding Israel back from a full force retaliation against Iran.
Waltz has also argued that the US should attempt to weaken Iran through sanctioning the Chinese buyers of Iranian oil, saying that isolating Iran economically would cripple their ability to finance the operations of terrorist groups such as Hamas, the Houthis, and Hezbollah. He has also helped spearhead bipartisan efforts to recategorize the Houthis in Yemen as an official international terrorist organization, a move that he argues would isolate the group by making financial transactions with them illegal.
On Tuesday, Trump raised eyebrows by tapping Hegseth to head the Pentagon. Hegseth, a former infantry officer in the Army National Guard deployed to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, has repeatedly expressed affinity for Israel. Hegseth, a devout Christian, argued on television that Jews have a right to live in Israel on Biblical grounds. In his 2020 book, American Crusade, Our Fight to Stay Free, he stated that Israel is “central to the story of Western civilization” and that the Jewish state is “inextricably linked” to America.
“If you love America, you should love Israel. We share history, we share faith, and we share freedom. We love free people, free expression, and free markets,” he wrote. “And whereas America is blessed with two big, beautiful oceans to protect it, Israel is surrounded on all sides by countries that either used to seek, or still seek, to wipe the nation off the map.”
During a 2016 trip to Israel, Hegseth said that he was “struck by the pervasive sense of purpose which permeates Israel and its people who understand the special nature of its founding and defense.” He also said that America can “learn from Israel” and that the Jewish state “is indispensable for the future of the West and human freedom.”
Following the 2020 killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, who headed the Quds Force responsible for overseeing Iran’s proxies and terrorist operations abroad, Hegseth urged then-President Trump to bomb Iran’s nuclear production facilities.
“I happen to believe that we can’t kick the can down the road any longer in trying to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb. They used the killing of Soleimani as an excuse to say ‘we’re scrapping the Iran Deal.’ We all know they were scrapping it anyway,” Hegseth said on Fox News, adding that America should notify Iran of its plans to destroy its “nuclear production facilities,” “key infrastructure,” “missile sites,” and “port capabilities.”
Hegseth also argued that attempts to restrain Israel from direct confrontation with Iran are “ridiculous” and that the Islamic regime represents an “existential threat” to the Jewish state.
“Israel wants to deal with Iran, we should let them … If it was not for Israel, Iran would have had the bomb already,” he said.
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American Jewish Organizations React to Trump’s Choice for US Ambassador to Israel
Mike Huckabee looks on as Donald Trump reacts during a campaign event at the Drexelbrook Catering and Event Center, in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, US, Oct. 29, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
American Jewish organizations were quick to react to US President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement that he would choose former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be the next US ambassador to Israel after he assumes office in January.
“Mike has been a great public servant, governor, and leader in faith for many years. He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East!” Trump wrote in his announcement.
Huckabee, an evangelical Christian, has long been a vocal pro-Israel voice. He has repudiated the anti-Israel protests that erupted in the wake of Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7 and criticized incumbent US President Joe Biden for sympathizing with anti-Israel protesters during his speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC). The incoming ambassador also lambasted the anti-Israel encampments at elite universities, stating that there should be “outrage” over the targeting and mistreatment of Jewish college students.
Ted Deutch, the CEO of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), posted on X on Tuesday that his organization “looks forward to working with Gov. Huckabee and newly appointed Special Envoy for the Middle East Steven Witkoff to strengthen the US-Israel relationship, bolster Israel-diaspora relations, and promote strong connections between American Jewry and Israel.”
Other Jewish communal organizations, such as the Jewish Federations of North America and the Anti-Defamation League, have so far not made statements.
The Republican Jewish Committee (RJC) said it was “thrilled” with the choice. “As a man of deep faith,” the RJC wrote, “we know Governor Huckabee’s abounding love of Israel and its people is second to none.”
It continued, “As the Jewish state continues to fight an existential war for survival against Iran and its terrorist proxies, Governor Huckabee will represent America’s ironclad commitment to Israel’s security with distinction.”
On the other side, however, the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) called Huckabee “utterly unqualified for this role” and argued that “his extremist views with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will not further the national security interests of the United States or advance prospects for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.”
Huckabee told Israel’s Army Radio in his first interview since the announcement of his ambassadorship that “of course” the annexation of the West Bank is a possibility during Trump’s second presidential term.
“Unfortunately, when it comes to the US-Israel relationship,” the JDCA concluded, “Donald Trump will continue to only be motivated by his own narrow self-interest, and we’re deeply concerned about what that means for the United States and Israel.”
J Street also opposed the choice, writing in a statement that “Huckabee, a right-wing, evangelical minister with a long history of championing settlement expansion, annexation, and a radical ‘Greater Israel’ agenda, holds principles and espouses views that — if now implemented — would shatter the foundations on which a healthy and strong US-Israel relationship has been built over the past 75 years.”
J Street on Monday urged the Biden administration to withhold offensive weapons from Israel as part of a partial arms embargo, arguing that the United States needs to hold Israel accountable for alleged human rights “violations” before Trump takes office.
Huckabee has taken positions on the Israel-Palestinian conflict considered further to the right than most American Jews and politicians. The former governor has defended Israel’s right to build settlements in the West Bank, acknowledging the Jewish people’s ties to the land dating back to the ancient world.
“There is no such thing as the West Bank — it’s Judea and Samaria,” Huckabee has said, referring to the biblical names for the area. “There is no such thing as settlements — they’re communities, they’re neighborhoods, they’re cities. There is no such thing as an occupation.”
Huckabee has also argued, including during his 2008 US presidential campaign, that any future Palestinian state should be created from land in Arab countries, rather than from territory that Israel captured in 1967 during the Six-Day War.
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