Topic: Newsmax
In an interview for Newsmax, Anti-Defamation League national director Abe Foxman described President Obama's efforts on the Israeli-Palestinian situation this way: "I would give him an A for effort, a C-minus for strategy, and an F for accomplishment." Guess how Newsmax played it?
"ADL's Foxman Gives Obama 'F' Grade for Accomplishment" reads the headline of a Feb. 8 Newsmax article by Jim Meyers based on the interview. Meyers states in his lead paragraph that Foxman "gives President Barack Obama an 'F' – a failing 'report card' grade after his first year in office for his 'accomplishments' in dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
It's not until the sixth paragraph that Meyers gets around to providing the entire Foxman quote.
Meyers then tries to frame Foxman's comment as evidence of Jewish discontent with Obama:
Foxman’s impatience and disappointment in Obama seems to reflect a growing unease among American Jews about the president’s Middle East policies.
Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, expressed concern about Obama in a June interview with Newsmaxs Chief Washington Correspondent Ronald Kessler.
“There’s a lot of questioning going on about what he really believes and what does he really stand for,” Hoenlein said.
“[Jews] are genuinely very concerned,” he added.
As we've detailed, Kessler has long endeavored to drive a wedge between Jews and Obama. But Meyers doesn't report that Hoenlein backed away from his comments as reported by Kessler, and even the transcript of the interview that Kessler was forced to post at Newsmax made it clear that Kessler wastrying to get Hoenlein to attack Obama and then took liberties with Hoenlein's words to portray them as providing the bashing Kessler wanted.
Newsmax's embrace of Foxman is strange given that just two weeks ago, Newsmax columnist Pamela Geller was smearing Foxman as having a "sickness of the soul" for committing the offense of criticizing Rush Limbaugh.
Then again, maybe that Geller column is because this interview was being done. Interviewer Kathleen Walter provided a lengthy introduction for Foxman, noting that he "is known throughout the world as a leader in the fight against hatred" and "is the recipient of numerous awards including the French Legion of Honor." At no point in the 14-minute-long interview does Walter bring up Limbaugh or Geller's smears.
