Having arrived in New York to attend the UNGA emergency meeting convened to resolve the humanitarian crisis in Palestine and bring an end to 11 days of Israeli aerial bombardment, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was interviewed by CNN and accused of making an anti-Semitic remark by the anchor.
What Happened: The interview was broadcasted live and conducted by CNN’s Bianna Golodryga. The minister began the interview by talking about Israel’s rampant belligerence against Gaza and announced that he was convinced that a ceasefire was “inevitable” due to mounting public pressure on Israel. When Qureshi remarked, “Israel is losing out, they are losing the media war despite their connections. The tide is turning,” Golodryga asked him what connection he was referring to. Qureshi laughed and said: “deep pockets.” “What does the mean?” asked Golodryga. To which Qureshi replied: “They are very influential people. They control the media.” To this, the CNN anchor said: “I mean I would call that an anti-Semitic remark.” Golodryga tweeted:
The Response: Pakistanis, enraged at Golodryga’s accusation. have taken to Twitter to defend Qureshi.