On Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry told Congress that it would be a “mistake” to insist that Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state as a condition of a peace agreement. That statement was a complete reversal of recent promises by Kerry and by President Barack Obama, and effectively makes a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians impossible. Yet the news was completely buried by the mainstream U.S. media.
In contrast, the story received extensive coverage in Israel, and strong responses from some Israeli politicians:
Kerry: Netanyahu wrong to insist Palestinians recognize Israel as Jewish state – Jerusalem Post
Kerry: ‘Jewish state’ demand ‘a mistake’ – Times of Israel
Kerry: ‘Mistake’ to use Jewish state recognition as deal breaker – Ha’aretz
Kerry: Mistake to make Jewish state demand a peace deal decider – Ynetnews.com
Kerry angers Right by calling recognition demand ‘a mistake’ – Israel Hayom
Several conservative outlets in the U.S. covered the story, as well as some Jewish publications. Yet the story did not seem worthy of coverage in the mainstream media, perhaps because journalists are disinclined to document the failure of Obama’s peace push, or perhaps because a story about him breaking a promise is nothing new.