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Bob Simon's Heroic Act of Journalism

By Ethan Brown

If you have not seen Sixty Minutes correspondent Bob Simon's piece "Time Running out for a Two-State Solution" stop everything you are doing and watch it now.

It is that good. And it is that heroic. In the piece, Simon boldly lays out the truth about what Israel's encroachment on Palestinian land -- and what the lack of a peace deal -- means for the future of the country:

"Without a separate Palestinian state the Israelis would have three options, none of them good. They could try ethnic cleansing, drive the Palestinians out of the West Bank, or they could give the Palestinians the vote. That would be the democratic option but it would mean the end of the Jewish state. Or they could try apartheid - have the minority Israelis rule the majority Palestinians, but apartheid regimes don't have a very long life."

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Simon also provides an empathetic portrayal of Palestinian life under Israeli occupation:

"One house for example is the highest house on the highest hill overlooking the town of Nablus. 60 Minutes learned that Israeli soldiers often corral the four families who live there and take over the house to monitor movement down below.

Simon and the 60 Minutes team went to an apartment owned by a Mr. Nassif. That morning, Israeli soldiers had apparently entered the apartment, without notice, and remained there when Simon knocked on the door. 'We cannot speak with you, there are soldiers,' Nassif told Simon. 'We are in prison here.'" I fully agree with Philip Weiss and his readers about the Simon piece:

"Viewers have never seen ANYTHING like this on mainstream television before. They are grateful. We are too. We must honor Bob Simon/CBS for a heroic piece of journalism."

You can bet that Sixty Minutes is getting tons of angry e-mails and phone calls today. But if you feel very differently about the piece as I do, let your voice be heard.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on January 26, 2009 (boomark / email).