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Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) National President Morton A. Klein released the following statement:
The Zionist Organization of America is appalled and condemns CBS News Senior Director of Standards and Practices Mark Memmott who instructed CBS News journalists not to refer to Jerusalem as being in Israel or as Israel’s capital. This means that CBS News will no longer report reality or what’s true.
CBS News is ignoring that the U.S. Congress recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 1995, when Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act, by an overwhelmingly vote of 93-5 in the U.S. Senate and 347-37 in the U.S. House.
Among other things, the Jerusalem Embassy Act found that:
• “Since 1950, the city of Jerusalem has been the capital of the State of Israel”; and
• “In 1996, the State of Israel will celebrate the 3,000th anniversary of the Jewish presence in Jerusalem since King David’s entry”; and
• “The city of Jerusalem is the seat of Israel’s President, Parliament, and Supreme Court, and the site of numerous government ministries and social and cultural institutions”; and
• “Each sovereign nation, under international law and custom, may designate its own capital.”
And, in 2017-2018, then- President Donald Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and kept the longstanding presidential promise to comply with the Jerusalem Embassy Act’s requirement to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
It is thus an irrefutable fact that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. As the Jerusalem Embassy Act made clear, Israel has the right to designate its own capital. Yet, CBS News’ Memmott would deny Israel – the only Jewish state – the right of every sovereign nation.
Memmott’s excuse for denying reality is absurd: Memmott told CBS News’ journalists that Jerusalem’s status is “disputed” because Palestinian Arabs want eastern Jerusalem for the capital of a non-existent future Palestinian Arab state. The Palestinian Arabs and Iran and its other proxies also “dispute” Israel’s entire existence and want to destroy Israel. Is CBS News going to stop calling Israel a nation because Palestinian Arabs and Iran have evil designs on all of Israel? And what about Iran’s calls for “Death to America”? Is CBS News going to stop calling the United States a country?
CBS News and Memmott also ignore that Israel is firmly opposed to giving up its land. After October 7 it is clear that giving up land means more Palestinian Arab murders of Jewish civilians: The Knesset recently overwhelmingly voted against allowing the creation of a Palestinian Arab state.
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