US President Donald Trump walks to board Air Force One as he departs Al Udeid Air Base, en-route to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in Doha, Qatar, May 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder

President Donald Trump’s four-day Middle East tour, which included stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates — but conspicuously omitted Israel — was widely interpreted as sidelining America’s closest regional ally.

Yet, beneath the surface of diplomatic optics, there was a deliberate strategy aimed at strengthening a broader anti-Iran coalition and ultimately reinforcing the enduring US–Israel partnership. By cultivating economic and security ties with Gulf monarchies while cautioning against over-reliance on these often-volatile regimes — and by engaging Syria’s new Islamist-led government with a wary eye toward its unpredictability — Washington recalibrated its regional engagement in a way that safeguards both American and Israeli interests.

The post Left Off the Itinerary, Reinforced for Battle: How Trump’s Gulf Gambit Secretly Fortified Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Partygoers at the Supernova Psy-Trance Festival running to safety during the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, as seen in the documentary “Supernova: The Music Festival Massacre.” Photo: Screenshot

The most recent example came buried in a news report that casually claimed Israel had unilaterally broken a ceasefire with Hamas — a striking departure from what the same outlet had previously reported.

This is part of NBC’s increasingly disturbing trend: a pattern in which its journalists appear to be reshaping the facts in Gaza — not because new evidence has emerged, but because the old facts no longer serve the narrative.

And these aren’t obscure details NBC somehow missed. These are facts the news outlet had already acknowledged. Now, they’re being walked back — replaced with a storyline that casts Israel as the aggressor and Hamas as the victim, resulting in some of the most distorted coverage of the conflict in recent months.

The “Shattered” Truce That Had Merely Run Its Course

Among the issues NBC has fumbled most egregiously is the temporary ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, struck in January 2025 and that expired in March — after Hamas refused to move forward with the next stage of the deal, which would have required it to release the remaining Israeli hostages kidnapped on October 7.

At the time, NBC got it right. On March 1, its headline declared the “Gaza ceasefire [was] in doubt,” citing the expiration of the deal and the lack of ongoing negotiations. The subheading noted that Israel wanted to extend the truce — though, tellingly, NBC left out that Hamas’ refusal stemmed from the hostage issue.

But within weeks, that reporting had been scrubbed from memory.

By April 17, NBC was writing that Israeli forces had “shattered the fragile truce” the previous month –implying that the breakdown of the agreement was an Israeli initiative, not a consequence of Hamas stonewalling the next phase.

Actually, no @NBCNews. Israeli forces didn’t “shatter the fragile truce” — the ceasefire deal expired and Hamas refused to agree to an extension.

And Hamas still refuses to end the war the only way it can: by disarming and releasing the hostages.

But sure, blame Israel. pic.twitter.com/fjMjtZLsEd

— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) April 17, 2025

HonestReporting flagged the shift in real time on social media. NBC responded — sort of — by quietly amending later stories to acknowledge that the deal had expired. But even in those updates, the narrative remained skewed, still placing blame for the truce’s collapse squarely on Israel.

Other NBC articles have since repeated similar wording — smuggling revisionism into coverage while pretending to offer clarity.

And that simply isn’t good enough. If a news outlet can’t keep its own reporting straight — or worse, is willing to rewrite it to match a shifting narrative — why should anyone trust it?

Recasting Roles: From Extremists to “Artists with a Message”

NBC’s editorial distortions aren’t limited to military timelines. Over the past several months, HonestReporting has repeatedly called out the network for its bizarrely sanitized treatment of terrorism and terror apologists.

A recent example: NBC reported that Irish band Kneecap had been dropped by their US agent over their “pro-Palestinian stance.” In reality, the band was dropped for openly supporting Hamas and Hezbollah — proscribed terrorist organizations under US law.

NBC’s piece framed the backlash as mere “criticism” of the band’s “anti-Israel messaging” during their Coachella set, and prominently featured Kneecap’s claim that it was all part of a “coordinated smear campaign.”

What NBC didn’t emphasize? That the band is under investigation in the UK for encouraging fans to murder Conservative MPs and has repeatedly promoted pro-terror messages on stage. Even their name is a not-so-subtle reference to IRA-style violence associated with the Irish terrorist organization.

In short: NBC tried to rehabilitate a group glorifying terrorism, casting them as misunderstood political artists instead of what they actually are — extremists with a mic. It’s not the first time either. NBC previously had to issue a correction after describing convicted Palestinian terrorists as “hostages” during an earlier phase of the ceasefire.

Rewriting a Massacre into an “Escalation”

Perhaps most disturbing is NBC’s recent tendency to revise the single event that launched the current war: the October 7 massacre.

That day, Hamas launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Israel during an active ceasefire — murdering, raping, and kidnapping civilians in their homes, at a music festival, and on the streets. It was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.

Most media outlets still refer to October 7 as a turning point, or at the very least, acknowledge it as the opening act of the war.

But NBC has opted for something else entirely: describing the massacre as a “major escalation in a decades-long conflict.”

Seriously, @NBCNews? Calling Hamas’s October 7 massacre a “major escalation”?

Reminder: Israel and Hamas were NOT at war in 2023. Hamas didn’t “escalate”—they launched a brutal war, and now refuse to end it by releasing the hostages they kidnapped. pic.twitter.com/ZCvhvRKnsT

— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) May 7, 2025

That’s not just inaccurate. It’s obscene.

There was no “escalation.” Hamas didn’t escalate a war. They started one. They did not respond to Israeli aggression — they initiated it by butchering civilians in their beds and live-streaming the carnage.

When a major news outlet rewrites its own reporting, downplays terrorism, and rebrands mass murder as a mere escalation, something has gone deeply wrong.

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 NBC News Is Quietly Rewriting Its Own Reporting on the Gaza War to Vilify Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Yuval Raphael from Israel with the title “New Day Will Rise” on stage at the second semi-final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest in the Arena St. Jakobshalle. Photo: Jens Büttner/dpa via Reuters Connect

Yuval Raphael’s majestic performance of the song “New Day Will Rise” earned Israel second place in the famed Eurovision competition that took place over the weekend in Switzerland. Here are the five reasons why the song placed so high:

1. Raphael’s voice: Raphael was vocally flawless, beginning the song in a soft tone, and building gradually until belting out the chorus with some raspiness thrown in and perfectly navigated trills.

2. Versatility: Raphael performed the song beginning in English, going to a bit of French, and throwing in some of her native Hebrew, and sounded authentic and on point in all languages.

3. Well-Constructed Song: The lyrics were powerful beginning with “And even if you say goodbye, you’ll never go away/ you are the rainbows in my sky my colors in the grey …”

In contrast to the melancholy verse, the chorus is uplifting: “New day will rise life will go on/Everyone cries, don’t cry alone/Darkness will fade all the pain will go by/But we will stay even if you say goodbye.”

While it is understood the lyrics refer to the attack of October 7, there is no specific reference to it and the song has universal appeal to resonate with people upset about any conflict or any loss.

4. Performed With Great Poise Despite Hate From Antisemites: Even if one doesn’t like Israel, to boo or have jeers against Raphael, who survived the attack at the Nova Festival on October 7,  shows someone has no class.

CNN outdid itself, managing to show anti-Israel bias in a music article, as its writer Rob Picheta wrote that Israel was the 20th best song (despite placing second). He called Hamas a “militant” group rather than a terrorist group. Rather than give the song an iota of credit, he wrote that the song is weaker than last year’s by Eden Golan. I disagree. But the point is in his “analysis” of 26 songs by respective countries, only did Israel get such a critique that it was musically worse than the previous year. Raphael was unfazed by the haters  — she carried on amazingly despite the pressure and the harassment, and it’s a credit to what Raphael is made of.

5. Emotional Impact: A majority of the Eurovision songs were dance tracks that were instantly forgettable. Besides having a powerful voice, Raphael’s delivery made the audience feel an emotional connection. The song is easily relatable, and Raphael’s vocals made me cry. A quick look at YouTubers evaluating her song showed people from different countries all agreeing on the song’s emotional resonance and power.

Should Israel have won Eurovision? Obviously, I think so — but I also would have been surprised if there was a fair result. Austria took first place with “Wasted Love” by JJ More, which I didn’t like. The song that came in third, “Espresso Macchiato,” would have been well suited for “Saturday Night live” but not any real music competition. Ukraine’s “Bird of Pray” by Ziferblat deserved much higher than ninth place.

It was great to see Israel once again stand out for artistry, creativity, and musical excellence, and while it should have taken the top spot, second place in such a competition is extremely impressive.

The author is a writer based in New York.

The post Five Reasons Israel’s Eurovision Song Was One of the Best first appeared on Algemeiner.com.