CNN anchor Jim Clancy has left the network one
week after a bizarre exchange with pro-Israel
activists on Twitter about the terrorist outrages in
Paris in which he derided his opponents as the
“hasbara team” and used a derogatory term for
disabled people.
His Twitter account got deactivated days after
the veteran journalist had an extended debate via
Twitter over the Charlie Hebdo cartoons and this
sparked his exit from the network he has served
for over three decades.
The exchange that caused the entire ruckus
began with Clancy issuing a bizarre defense of
the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed published
by a Danish newspaper in 2005 and by Charlie
Hebdo in 2011, which led to violent protests in
both western capitals and throughout the Islamic
world.
According to Clancy, “The cartoons NEVER
mocked the Prophet. They mocked how the
COWARDS tried to distort his word. Pay
attention.”
When Oren Kessler of the Washington, DC-based
Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD)
responded that Clancy’s claim was “absolutely
untrue,” because Charlie Hebdo had been
previously targeted for publishing an issue in
which the Prophet Muhammed was listed as a
“guest editor,” Clancy, whose obsession with
Israeli settlement policy is well-known among
CNN viewers, responded with the word,
“Hasbara?” (“Hasbara,” the Hebrew word for
“explaining,” is often invoked by Israel’s
opponents to dismiss views with which they
disagree, even when, as in this case, the matter
at hand has nothing to do with Israel.)
Twitter got heated up as users joined the fray
and Clancy went on to accuse both the pro-Israel
blog Elder of Ziyon and the openly anti-Semitic
“Jews Making News” Twitter feed of being part of
an anti-Muslim and pro-Israel PR campaign.
This sparked provocative questions by Honest
Reporting asking, “what does it say about
Clancy’s state of mind that he cannot distinguish
between a genuine pro-Israel blog site and
another that expressly promotes anti-Semitic
conspiracy theories?”
When another Twitter user told Clancy that no
pro-Israel voices had articulated the positions he
was erroneously ascribing to them, the anchor
launched into a tirade. “Get a grip, junior. It’s my
Friday night,” he replied. “You and the Hasbara
team need to pick on some cripple on the edge of
the herd.”
While it is unclear what Clancy’s last sentence
was intended to mean, his use of the word
“cripple” in insulting fashion didn’t escape the
notice of disability rights advocates.
Jay
Ruderman, the head of the Ruderman Family
Foundation, an organization closely involved with
disability issues, tweeted: “Cripple is derogatory
term @clancycnn : ‘You and the Hasbara team
need to pick on some cripple on the edge of the
herd.’”
CNN, however, made no mention of the scandal
as it paid tribute to Clancy’s 34 years of service
with the channel.
The spokesperson for the network came out to
say, “Jim Clancy is no longer with CNN. We thank
him for more than three decades of distinguished
service, and wish him nothing but the best.”
In a short statement, Clancy said:
“After nearly 34
years with Cable News Network, the time has
come to say Farewell! It has been my honor to
work alongside all of you for all of these years.
This is one of the greatest news organizations in
the world. It has truly revolutionized information
delivery while driving technological advances in
how we gather the news. Through it all, CNN has
been a family to my own family. That means
something. As I reflect on all of the great
adventures and achievements of the past, I wish
you great success in the future.”
His Wikipedia page has also been changed
following his departure.
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