Jim Clancy resigns: CNN International correspondent quits for 'suggesting Israeli propaganda had hand in Charlie Hebdo attacks'
Clancy has remained silent over the issue, and deleted his entire Twitter account on Thursday, while CNN confirmed his resignation
Wednesday, 21 January 2015
Jim Clancy quit his long-standing job on CNN after he appeared to suggest that the Charlie Hebdo terror attacks were provoked by what he perceives to be the magazine’s pro-Israel stance.
He left the channel following 34 years in the role of international correspondent on Friday.
His departure came as he voiced his theory as to why the French satirical publication chose to print caricatures of the Prophet Mohamed in a series of tweets earlier this month
Clancy suggested that Charlie Hebdo aimed to poke fun not at the Prophet, but those who “distort his word”.
When Clancy’s followers challenged his opinion, pointing out that Charlie Hebdo is staunchly anti-religious, he responded with the following:
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"Hasbara team," referring to public relations efforts by Israel supporters on social media.
CNN’s Jim Clancy Resigns After Twitter Rant About Israeli Propaganda
CNN International correspondent Jim Clancy has left the cable news channel, where he worked for 34 years, according to an internal memo obtained by TVNewser. CNN confirmed Clancy’s departure in a separate statement: “We thank him for more than three decades of distinguished service, and wish him nothing but the best.” But the network declined to comment on a series of bizarre tweets—in which Clancy seemed to suggest that Israeli propaganda had a hand in theCharlie Hebdo massacre in Paris—which preceded his abrupt resignation.
On January 7, Clancy began tweeting about why, exactly, Charlie Hebdo published cartoon caricatures of Mohammad; his personal theory was that the newspaper wanted to mock not the Muslim prophet but people who “distort his word”:
This is incorrect. Charlie Hebdo is militantly anti-religious, and there’s no evidence that the paper intended to target Muslims who deliberately distorted Mohammad’s teachings. When one of Clancy’s followers pointed this out, however, he responded with “Hasbara?”:
Some background: Hasbara is a Hebrew word which means “explaining.” In discussions about Israel and Palestine, however, the term is often used to describe efforts to portray the State of Israel in a positive light. Critics of that country’s government frequently deploy the term to criticize what they perceive to be deceptive pro-Israeli propaganda.
Clancy is one of those critics: He has publicly condemned Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. It is also true that Clancy’s interlocutor, Oren Kessler, works for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, an influential Washington think tank known for its enthusiastic support of Israel. But responding with “Hasbara?” makes little sense in this particular context; Kessler was not discussing Israel or attempting to insert it into the conversation:
It is still not entirely clear what Clancy was talking about. His subsequent tweets were a mix of non sequiturs, claims of “satire,” and his own commentary on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank:
Clancy never explained what pro-Israeli propaganda had to do with the Charlie Hebdo killings. Nor does he seem to have any plans to do so. While the correspondent continued tweeting as if nothing had happened for the next few days, he quietly deleted his Twitter account on Thursday. He has not commented beyond a cheery goodbye email he sent to his CNN colleagues on Friday.
If you’re a CNN employee with any more information about Clancy’s departure, send us an email or comment below.
http://tktk.gawker.com/cnn-s-jim-clancy-resigns-after-twitter-rant-about-israe-1680003120
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