After expressing some candid on-air criticism of MSNBC, network contributor Rula Jebreal is wondering if she’s in the cable news channel’s dog house.
Jebreal said in a tweet Monday evening that her “forthcoming TV appearances” had been canceled. The Palestinian journalist also questioned if there might be a “link” between the cancelations and her comments earlier in the day in which she said MSNBC’s coverage had been biased toward Israel amid the nation’s ongoing conflict with Hamas.
While appearing on Monday’s episode of “Ronan Farrow Daily,” Jebreal said the channel’s coverage of the conflict was too favorable toward Israel. She even singled out Andrea Mitchell, the NBC News foreign affairs correspondent and MSNBC host.
“Look at how many airtime Netanyahu and his folks have on air on a daily basis. Andrea Mitchell and others,” Jebreal said. “I never see one Palestinian being interviewed on theses same issues.”
Jebreal also used the appearance to address the ordeal of Ayman Mohyeldin, the NBC News correspondent who was mysteriously pulled off the network’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict last week. Many journalists, including Jebreal, believed the decision was politically motivated.
“Listen, the Ayman Mohyeldin story, let’s talk about this. We are home and we can discuss this. Ayman Mohyeldin is covering the Palestinian side and we get upset,” Jebreal said. “It’s too pro-Palestinian. We don’t like it. We push him back and thanks for social media that brought him in.”
After a considerable backlash, NBC returned Mohyeldin to Gaza this weekend to cover the story.
In her tweet, Jebreal asked if the Daily Beast’s Eli Lake had the same experience. During their appearance earlier on Farrow’s program, Lake said he was “baffled” by Jebreal’s contention that Israel received disproportionately positive press.
Lake responded to Jebreal’s tweet, saying he “didn’t have any forthcoming TV appearances to cancel.”