(Pictured: Dave Marash)There was a time when I truly respected Dave Marash's journalistic prowess. There was Dave anchoring the news on one of the local New York stations. There was Dave broadcasting local and national sporting events. There was Dave writing a newspaper column. And then Dave disappeared for awhile, re-emerging at Al-Jazeera of all places.
A little more than a year ago, Al-Jazeera, the incendiary Qatar-based Arabic satellite TV news channel that had set the Arab world afire with its heretofore unknown criticism of Middle East Arab regimes (except for Qatar of course), as well as its blistering anti-Israel reportage, decided to launch an English-language channel. In its quest for instant legitimacy, Al-Jazeera sought out veteran (as in semi-burned out or retired) journalists, especially those with Jewish surnames. And there was Dave Marash, signing on to anchor one of the network's main broadcasts. Marash maintained that he would have control over content, even with the skewed anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic stories that were being fed into the newsroom by Al-Jazeera correspondents.
Desperate to re-energize his career, despite the obvious anti-Israeli and anti-American rhetoric that ruled Al-Jazeera's airwaves, Dave Marash pressed forward. Last month, Israeli government authorities, who had bent over backwards to grant Al-Jazeera complete freedom of movement and the right to broadcast almost anywhere in Israel, decided enough was enough. The tone of Al-Jazeera's reporting and the obvious staging of events, including the alleged Gaza blackout by the Israeli government, prompted Israeli officials to refuse interviews with Al-Jazeera's reporters in Israel. Mind you, the government, despite being lambasted by Al-Jazeera 24/7, DID NOT lift Al-Jazeera's press credentials or ban access to events. Freedom of the press in Israel tends to be holier than the sum total of the government's true worth.
Last week, Dave Marash finally read the handwriting on the wall and resigned. "To put it bluntly...the channel that's on now 00 while excellent -- is not the channel I signed up to do," he told The New York Times. Boker Tov!
Of course Dave would NEVER come right out and say what he really felt. Here Dave, let me do it for you:
"Man, I was paid a lot of money to do my thing and they told me I would have editorial control. Well, after awhile it became obvious that the Arabic-speaking bureau chief in Doha set the agenda for what was seen by millions of viewers -- and, quite frankly, the coverage was kind of skewed against Israel, America and the Jews in general. Rather than embarrass myself and be targeted as a self-hating Jew, I decided it was time to hang it up and pray that my community will forgive me for my momentary lapse into stupidity."
Time will tell, Dave...
A little more than a year ago, Al-Jazeera, the incendiary Qatar-based Arabic satellite TV news channel that had set the Arab world afire with its heretofore unknown criticism of Middle East Arab regimes (except for Qatar of course), as well as its blistering anti-Israel reportage, decided to launch an English-language channel. In its quest for instant legitimacy, Al-Jazeera sought out veteran (as in semi-burned out or retired) journalists, especially those with Jewish surnames. And there was Dave Marash, signing on to anchor one of the network's main broadcasts. Marash maintained that he would have control over content, even with the skewed anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic stories that were being fed into the newsroom by Al-Jazeera correspondents.
Desperate to re-energize his career, despite the obvious anti-Israeli and anti-American rhetoric that ruled Al-Jazeera's airwaves, Dave Marash pressed forward. Last month, Israeli government authorities, who had bent over backwards to grant Al-Jazeera complete freedom of movement and the right to broadcast almost anywhere in Israel, decided enough was enough. The tone of Al-Jazeera's reporting and the obvious staging of events, including the alleged Gaza blackout by the Israeli government, prompted Israeli officials to refuse interviews with Al-Jazeera's reporters in Israel. Mind you, the government, despite being lambasted by Al-Jazeera 24/7, DID NOT lift Al-Jazeera's press credentials or ban access to events. Freedom of the press in Israel tends to be holier than the sum total of the government's true worth.
Last week, Dave Marash finally read the handwriting on the wall and resigned. "To put it bluntly...the channel that's on now 00 while excellent -- is not the channel I signed up to do," he told The New York Times. Boker Tov!
Of course Dave would NEVER come right out and say what he really felt. Here Dave, let me do it for you:
"Man, I was paid a lot of money to do my thing and they told me I would have editorial control. Well, after awhile it became obvious that the Arabic-speaking bureau chief in Doha set the agenda for what was seen by millions of viewers -- and, quite frankly, the coverage was kind of skewed against Israel, America and the Jews in general. Rather than embarrass myself and be targeted as a self-hating Jew, I decided it was time to hang it up and pray that my community will forgive me for my momentary lapse into stupidity."
Time will tell, Dave...
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