A CNN contributor was found to have a history of hate against Jews and was subsequently fired following an anti-semitic tweet posted over the weekend amidst the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Longtime CNN contributor Adeel Raja is no longer writing for the media giant following the discovery of several anti-semitic messages posted to his Twitter account, particularly one that hinted at eliminating the Jews.
Over the weekend, Raja tweeted "The world today needs a Hitler," seemingly referring to the extermination of Jewish people in Israel, which has for a week now been in conflict with the Palestinian Hamas militant group. Raja sent the tweet on Sunday amidst the tensions in the Middle East, sparking backlash from Internet users.
According to The Blaze, the CNN contributor deleted the anti-semitic tweet, but not before many noticed it, including Donald Trump Jr., who posted screenshots of the tweets, Raja's LinkedIn profile, and a CNN article of which he was a co-author. Trump Jr. captioned his post, "Hey @cnn this seems to be one of yours, but I imagine that surprises no one anymore."
Hey @cnn this seems to be one of yours, but I imagine that surprises no one anymore. https://t.co/b90yrLXNps pic.twitter.com/JMq89aURur
"” Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 16, 2021
But the "world today needs a Hitler'' tweet from the CNN contributor was not all he had tweeted. Internet sleuths dug up old tweets from Raja, who praised the genocidal Nazi leader and at one point called for a "Palestinian genocide." In response to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Raja expressed his support for Germany because "Hitler was a German and he did good with those Jews!"
The CNN contributor also called for a "Palestinian genocide" and asked "ISIS, TTP, [and] Taliban" to "go to Israel ASAP!" Raja has been contributing to CNN since about 2014, during which his earlier articles were published, and as late as September 2020. He is allegedly based in Pakistan, a nation upon which his stories usually revolve around.
FOX News exclusively received a comment from CNN addressing Raja's anti-semitic tweet, saying that, "Adeel Raja has never been a CNN employee. As a freelancer, his reporting contributed to some newsgathering efforts from Islamabad."
"However, in light of these abhorrent statements, he will not be working with CNN again in any capacity," CNN's statement read.
For about a week now, the Palestinian militants and the Israeli forces have been exchanging attacks, beginning with the Palestinian rockets that were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome. Israel responded with several air and ground strikes, killing several Hamas militant leaders. The conflict continued over the weekend.
Israel struck again, leveling several buildings in Gaza, including one that housed Al Jazeera and Associated Press offices.
According to AP, the company operated in the building for 15 years, surviving through three previous wars between the Israelis and Palestinians. AP's executive editor Sally Buzbee is calling for an independent investigation into the airstrike that destroyed their offices.
She said, "We are in a conflict situation. We do not take sides in that conflict. We heard Israelis say they have evidence; we don't know what that evidence is. We think it's appropriate at this point for there to be an independent look at what happened yesterday-an independent investigation."
