‘60 Minutes’ slammed for relying on CAIR-connected sources for anti-Israel segment
The American Jewish Committee said the segment was ‘shockingly one-sided, lacked factual accuracy and relied heavily on misguided information’

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CBS headquarters are seen in Manhattan on April 8, 2012 in New York City
CBS News is facing renewed accusations of anti-Israel bias over a “60 Minutes” segment criticizing the Biden administration’s handling of the war in Gaza that relies largely on two former State Department officials with ties to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), whose executive director has drawn condemnation from the White House for praising Hamas.
The new segment, which aired on Sunday, appeared highly skeptical of Israel’s war against Hamas in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks — drawing almost exclusively on interviews with two disgruntled former officials who resigned from the State Department in protest of President Joe Biden’s support for Israel amid the ongoing conflict.
The former officials, Josh Paul and Hala Rharrit, claim the U.S. has been “complicit” in helping Israel to carry out alleged violations of international law — saying American weapons transfers have enabled “devastation” in Gaza that the administration has ignored.
But the segment omits key details about the two subjects, including their connections to CAIR, the Muslim advocacy group whose leader, Nihad Awad, has said that he was “happy to see” Hamas’ terror attacks and argued that Israel does not have a “right to self-defense.” The White House denounced his comments as “shocking” and “antisemitic.”
Rharrit, a former career diplomat, has appeared at CAIR events, including an August panel discussing “how Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism fuel the Biden administration’s Gaza policy,” according to a flier. For his part, Paul — a former director in the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs — now serves as a senior advisor for DAWN, an anti-Israel group whose board members include Awad.
The segment, which also features a third former State Department official who resigned over the war, has drawn widespread scrutiny for what critics are calling a lack of balance in covering the conflict. Cecilia Vega, the “60 Minutes” correspondent who reported the segment, for instance, notes in her introduction that the “war has led to charges of genocide against Israel — and has been fueled by American weapons and billions of taxpayer dollars.”
Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said in social media comments on Monday that he was “outraged” CBS News “would air such a biased and one-sided piece, villainizing Israel and berating U.S. support for its ally.”
“‘60 Minutes’ is supposed to be the gold standard for broadcast journalism, but they completely dropped the ball last night,” Greenblatt added. “Where are the counter perspectives to those interviewed? Where is the mention of the nearly 100 hostages — including Americans — STILL in captivity!? What kind of journalism is that?”
The American Jewish Committee added in a statement that it was “deeply disturbed by the segment,” saying it was “shockingly one-sided, lacked factual accuracy and relied heavily on misguided information.”
“Perhaps most egregiously, the segment made almost no mention of Hamas’ actions that started this war, placing Palestinian civilians in Gaza in harm’s way for years by embedding weapons and other terrorist infrastructure in civilian areas,” the AJC wrote.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), meanwhile, called the segment “a disgraceful hit job against Israel” in a social media post on Monday. “‘60 Minutes’ forgot that Hamas started the war, Hamas still holds American hostages, and any damage in Gaza is the sole fault of Hamas,” he said.
A spokesperson for CBS News, which is owned by Paramount, did not respond to a request for comment from Jewish Insider on Monday.
The segment has drawn internal backlash from CBS staffers, according to a Paramount employee who is familiar with the news division and asked to remain anonymous to discuss the sensitive matter. “People are furious,” the employee told JI, saying that the criticism has mirrored comments on social media.
“How could this ever live up to the ideals of ‘60 Minutes’?” the employee added, calling the segment a “hit piece that lacked balance” and “just doesn’t pass the smell test.”
The employee also said that the segment speaks to a “systemic” issue at CBS News, which has previously faced criticism for its handling of internal divisions over Israel.
Last October, the network’s leadership determined that an interview between “CBS Mornings” anchor Tony Dokoupil and the author Ta-Nehisi Coates did not meet the network’s editorial standards — citing Dokoupil’s tone in a contentious exchange where he challenged Coates on his criticism of Israel in a new book.
But Shari Redstone, the chairwoman of Paramount Global, later said that she believed CBS leadership had “made a mistake,” arguing that Dokoupil had “handled himself and showed the world and modeled what civil discourse is.”
“We all agree that this was not handled correctly, and we all agree that something needs to be done,” Redstone said last fall. “I don’t have editorial control. I am not an executive, but I have a voice.”