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Thursday, June 20, 2013
Sad news to report about one of the most prolific reporters in history. Mike Wallace, longtime 60 Minutes correspondent, died Saturday. The hard-hitting interviewer is survived by his wife, Mary Yates, and son, Chris Wallace, who followed in his dad's footsteps and is a solid journalist in his own right. Mike Wallace began his career on the radio after returning from World War II, then he moved on to acting on television, starring in commercials for Parliament cigarettes and hosting game shows. Wallace has been credited for introducing most white Americans to the Muslim religion back in 1959, when he produced the documentary, The Hate that Hate Produced. He interviewed high-profile personalities such as Malcolm X and Barbra Streisand but regretted losing the opportunity to interview Pat Nixon. Toward the end of his 60 Minutes career, he interviewed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2006. He retired in 2008, and his final interview was with the baseball player Roger Clemens. Mike Wallace was 93.
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In a 1988 segment on "60 Minutes"--18 years before publication of the almost instantly discredited essay "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy" by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt--Wallace advanced essentially the same theme. His report seemed to be an attempt to discredit pro-Israel
activists in the Unites States--especially the American Israel Public Affairs Committee--and undermine U.S. support for Israeli aid," explained the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) in their report entitled "Mike Wallace's Middle East Problem."
In his 1958 interview with the late Israeli amba*sador to the United States, Abba Eban, the CBS reporter espoused what many saw as a blatant anti-Israel discourse.
He commenced the interview saying, "Mr. Amba*sador, in its 10 years as a nation, Israel has been involved in repeated violence, major border incidents, two open wars with the Arabs--the first in 48, the last in 56. What do you foresee for the next ten years?"
His belief that Israel has only been a nation for 10 years is, itself, cause for concern, even for those faintly acquainted with Jewish history.
Wallace, quoting the British historian stated, "...Arnold Toynbee has said,
"The evil deeds committed by the Zionist Jews against the [refugee] Arabs are comparable to crimes committed against the Jews by the Nazis."
He continued addressing the Israeli amba*sador noting that, "the American Jew and the State of Israel, the anti-Zionist rabbi, Dr. Elmer Berger [a Reform rabbi, not Satmar or Neturei Karta] has written, 'the Zionist-Israeli axis imposes upon Jews outside of Israel, Americans of Jewish faith
included, a status of double-nationality,' a status which he deplores. What's your answer?"
The interview progressed in a similar vein. Yet, the Israeli amba*sador eloquently refuted all of the allegations and carefully selected sources of
reference, defending Israel's legitimacy and right to exist.
Mike Wallace will certainly be remembered. The question that remains, however, is in what way? All that can be determined is that the pa*sing of the iconic reporter will certainly leave a contentious legacy.