This sounds like a joke. But the PBS News Hour is far softer in interviewing a spokesman for the terrorist group Hezbollah than they are with Israel, which they treat like a terrorist group.
Hezbollah flack Wafiq Sada drew softballs from reporter Simona Foltyn on Tuesday, with the assumption that Israel was a malevolent force.
On Thursday's News Hour, anchor Geoff Bennett pulled out rhetorical boxing gloves for Danny Danon, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations.
Danon received the old “how many deaths are acceptable” push, like Donald Trump got during the Covid pandemic.
PBS anchor Geoff Bennett rips into Israel's UN ambassador:
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) April 25, 2026
“When Israel targets Hezbollah in dense urban areas, as was the case here, how does it determine what level of civilian casualties is considered acceptable?” And:
"We know that Hezbollah does indeed embed itself in… pic.twitter.com/wVmD1SFG1R
The PBS host asked: “When Israel targets Hezbollah in dense urban areas, as was the case here, how does it determine what level of civilian casualties is considered acceptable?” Danon replied: “So, first, we try to minimize civilian casualties, period, unlike Hezbollah, who did exactly the opposite. They target communities.” They hide behind civilians, he said, like Hamas did in Gaza.
Bennett acknowledged that, then repeated himself, but harsher: “To your point, we know that Hezbollah does indeed embed itself in civilian areas. So, how many civilian deaths per Hezbollah target is acceptable? Is it five? Is it 10? Is it 300? Or is there no ceiling at all?”
PBS’s Foltyn did not ask her Hezbollah guest these questions, and even let him claim “Let us be clear and honest. Hezbollah's ethics and religion prohibits it from killing civilians.”
Then it turned really feisty when Bennett relayed the claim that Israel’s targeting journalists for death in Lebanon:
PBS host Geoff Bennett is a callous JERK as he accuses Israel of targeting journalists for death. "What military objective is served by killing reporters?" Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon calls that not just a lie, but a "blood libel," which triggers Bennett into more snide… pic.twitter.com/IVyD9GyhFN
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) April 25, 2026
BENNETT: The Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil was killed yesterday in an Israeli strike. Lebanon's prime minister responded by saying that Israel's targeting of journalists -- and this is a quote -- "is no longer isolated incidents, but has become an established approach."
The Committee to Protect Journalists has documented a pattern of journalists killed by Israeli strikes. What military objective is served by killing reporters?
DANON: Well, I beg to differ about your question. It's biased. With all due respect, we are not targeting reporters, period. Unfortunately, if you have reporters who are next to Hezbollah terrorists or Hezbollah bunkers or Hezbollah launchers, those incidents happen, and we regret that. But to accuse Israel that we target reporters, you know, that's a blood libel! You know, what are you actually implying, that we gather intelligence --
BENNETT: Excuse me, sir. Excuse me --
DANON: -- that we gather intelligence --
BENNETT: I take issue. I take issue. I take issue with that, sir.
DANON: -- and we actually want to kill reporters, and not to kill terrorists of Hezbollah?
BENNETT: You say that Israel does not target journalists. Amal Khalil is dead. CPJ has documented a growing pattern of targeted Israeli attacks in Lebanon, where 15 journalists and media workers have been killed by Israel since the October 7 attacks.
Your government continues to state that Israel does not target journalists. But my question is simple. At what number of dead journalists does that answer become one that the international community can no longer accept?
At this point, Bennett is berating the guest as part of an immoral conspiracy to murder journalists. How do you remain calm and civil under this kind of assault? And how does PBS think they are some oasis of calm and rational discourse with this kind of junk? PBS president Paula Kerger goes around calling their network "educating and inspiring," and bringing the country together. What baloney.
Danon remains calm, but indignant, and Bennett keeps aggressively pushing:
DANON: Geoff, it's outrageous. When you say we target journalists, you imply that we have the intention to kill journalists, and that's a lie. You should ask the other questions. Where were those journalists during the time of the attack? Where they were spending their time? Maybe they were next to Hezbollah terrorists, and that's why they were in line of fire, unfortunately.
BENNETT: Do you know that to be true? Do you know that to be true?
DANON: I will tell you one thing.
BENNETT: Do you know that to be true, sir?
DANON: We will focus our efforts --
BENNETT: I’ll take that as a no.
DANON: -- our abilities, our intelligence, targeting Hezbollah terrorists, period. We are not doing it against civilians and for sure not against reporters.
Bennett thanked Danon after all that abuse, and Danon returned the thank you. I think I would have had a different farewell message. "I hope you know you sound like you work for Hezbollah."
