CNN Appoints “Proud Former Israeli Soldier” as Senior Jerusalem Journalist

Occupied Jerusalem (QNN)- CNN is under fire after appointing Tal Shalev as a senior reporter in its bureau in occupied Jerusalem. The announcement came on September 3. Shalev’s past statements and photos quickly drew controversy.

Shalev was photographed posing with an Israeli tank and captioning it “Weak Spot for tanks.” On social media, she praised an Israeli women’s armored unit that took part in the Gaza genocide. She described the female soldiers as “heroines” and celebrated their use of tanks and heavy fire along the Philadelphi Route.

“They got on the Philadelphi Route toward the envelope, driving the tanks for kilometers along the southern border, reached the envelope area, ran over, shot, and eliminated dozens of terrorists with shells and machine guns!”, she wrote.

In other posts, Shalev applauded Israelis preparing to join Israel’s army reserves in Gaza. She also called herself a “proud former semi-permanent armored corps instructor,” highlighting her past and close ties to Israel’s military.

The appointment has fueled concerns about CNN’s neutrality. Critics argue that her open support for Israeli forces undermines the network’s credibility in covering the Israeli genocide.

Israel has killed 246 Palestinian journalists in Gaza since October 7, claiming they were linked to resistance groups. Israel has provided no evidence for these claims. A report by +972 Magazine revealed that a special Israeli military unit searches for any information to connect Gaza journalists to resistance, in order to justify their killing.

CNN has faced repeated criticism during the Gaza genocide for biased coverage favoring Israel. The network was among the first to promote the false story of “40 beheaded babies,” a claim later debunked. CNN also reported inconsistent Israeli figures about October 7 deaths, most of whom turned out to be soldiers. Evidence later showed that Israel’s own Hannibal Directive contributed to the deaths.

Human rights groups say CNN’s reporting helped legitimize Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. That genocidal war has killed more than 62,000 Palestinians, the majority women and children.