CNN’s Dana Bash sees book event thrown into disarray by anti-Israel protesters
A stop on CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash’s new book tour was thrown into disarray when anti-Israel protesters crashed the event.
Bash was promoting her book “America’s Deadliest Election: The Cautionary Tale of the Most Violent Election in American History” at a Thursday night event hosted by Washington, D.C. independent bookstore Politics and Prose.
At least two protesters crashed the event and walked in front of the seated audience gathered in the bookstore to face Bash.
“You belong behind bars!” one protester can be seen yelling at Bash in a video from the event. “You are complicit in the genocide!”
“Every single time she lies, a neighborhood in Gaza dies!” the protester yelled. “She is killing people! You know you are! Look me in the eye! Look me in the eye!”
“You don’t deserve to look [her] in the eyes,” an audience member retorted.
The protester continued to yell at Bash, calling her a “killer,” as two men in police uniforms escorted her out of the bookstore.
“Take your mask off,” an audience member said as the protester was being walked out.
A second protester then took over the one-sided screaming match.
“You’re taking millions and you’re living in that house all alone, that multi-million dollar house,” the protester said. “You’re taking it to spew lies about the Palestinian people!”
The Jewish CNN anchor — who didn’t engage with the protesters — has criticized the disruptive pro-Palestinian protests that have erupted on college campuses across the country.
“Now, protesting the way the Israeli government, the Israeli prime minister is prosecuting the retaliatory war against Hamas is one thing,” Bash previously said during her “Inside Politics” program. “Making Jewish students feel unsafe at their own schools is unacceptable. And it is happening way too much right now.”
A CNN spokesperson called Bash “a highly respected veteran journalist” who has covered politics “fairly” for more than thirty years.
“We firmly stand by her and her reporting, and while we respect the right of free speech, we will not be intimidated and will continue to cover all subjects without fear or favor,” a CNN spokesperson told The Post in a statement.
Bash’s book parallels the election of 1872 – when both major parties accused the other of corruption and racism and violence ran rampant across the country – to today’s tense political atmosphere.
The audience member’s call for the protesters to remove their masks is not an uncommon one.
Long Island’s Nassau County became the first to pass a controversial ban on wearing face coverings in public, making it a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and $1,000 fine. The ban exempts people who wear the masks for healthy, safety, religious or cultural reasons.
The Republican-controlled county legislature passed the act in response to an uptick in antisemitic incidents, which county lawmakers claimed are often committed by those wearing masks.
A New York-based disability advocacy group filed a lawsuit against the ban, arguing it is unconstitutional and discriminates against people with disabilities.
(A previous version of this story incorrectly attributed an audience member’s quotes to Dana Bash. A CNN spokesperson said Bash did not engage with the protesters and allowed them to peacefully protest.)
