CBS warns journalists not to say that Jerusalem is in Israel after telling them not to call Hamas terrorists

CBS News warned its journalists last month not say Jerusalem is in Israel, after telling reporters to avoid labeling members of Hamas as terrorists in the immediate aftermath of the October 7 attacks.

Mark Memmott, the senior director of standards and practices at CBS News, told all employees at the network in August via email not to refer to Jerusalem as being in Israel, The Free Press reported Wednesday.

He reportedly wrote in a note to thousands of CBS journalists: Yes, the U.S. embassy is there and the Trump administration recognized it as being Israels capital. But its status is disputed. The status of Jerusalem goes to the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

While president, Donald Trump moved the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, angering Palestinians who claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state. 

The Temple Mount in Jerusalems Old City on September 17, 2024

On Thursday, Bari Weiss, founder and editor at The Free Press, claimed an editorial standards email was sent to CBS reporters on October 8, 2023, just one day after Hamass attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people.

Reporting on this weekends violence in Israel and Gaza requires a closer look at the language we use when describing events, read the note, which Weiss posted to her X account, garnering more than 200,000 views as of Friday.

For instance, the U.S. government considers Hamas a terrorist organization; however, suggesting an individual is a "terrorist" may be inaccurate depending on the facts. 

A Palestinian fighter with Hamas pictured on July 19, 2023

Bari Weiss claimed an editorial standards email was sent to CBS reporters on October 8, just one day Hamass attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people

There are some who believe the attack by Hamas is a justified retaliation to Israeli occupations of their lands. Other believe this to be an unprovoked attack on Israel and, as such, Israel has every right to defend itself. 

A network spokesperson familiar with the emails told DailyMail.com that The Free Press took its style guidance out of context, saying the portion about not referring to Jerusalem as being in Israel was meant to remind reporters to include context about the ongoing conflict. 

The news came as the network was criticized for chastising CBS Mornings host Tony Dokoupil for what many believe was his rightfully tough questioning of author Ta-Nehisi Coates about his pro-Palestine stance.

Following accusations that fellow host Gayle King tipped off Coates to which questions were going to be asked, the network denied the claim and defended her.

Some noticed a similar kind of both-sidesing in a resurfaced clip of Gayle King interviewing Thomas Hand in November 2023 about the October 7 kidnap of his eight year-old daughter Emily.

The clip saw King ask Hand: Now this seems to be all about politics. What do you say about that? You know, you have innocent children and Palestinians who are dying, innocent Israeli children who are dying. And no one seems to be able to say "Enough, stop that."

Hand laughed nervously and answered: Im not interested in politics at all. My only concern is getting Emily back. 

But Kings tough line of questioning - which was backed by her CBS Mornings bosses - sparked allegations of hypocrisy after Dokoupils challenging of Coates about his anti-Israel views last week.

Thomas Hand, left, appeared on CBS Mornings with Gayle King, right, and Tony Dokoupil in November 2023 after his daughter Emily was kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7 attacks

CBS Mornings co-host Tony Dokoupil (right) slammed author Ta-Nehisi Coates (left) for delegitimizing Israels right to exist last week 

Hand laughed nervously and answered: Im not interested in politics at all. My only concern is getting Emily back. 

But Kings tough line of questioning - which was backed by her CBS Mornings bosses - sparked allegations of hypocrisy after Dokoupils challenging of Coates about his anti-Israel views last week.

Jewish Insider correspondent Lahav Harkov said of Kings chat with Hand: It violates CBS standards for Tony Dokoupil to ask Ta-Nehisi Coates tough questions about his anti-Israel screed but apparently it was totally fine for Gayle King to make accusations to the father of a hostage - who said nothing derogatory about Palestinians, btw.