A key part of Newsmax’s junket to Israel involved TV host Carl Higbie doing his show that week from Israel. Newsmax’s enthusiasm for serving up propaganda for Israel was featured in an Aug. 11 article by the apparently unironically named Charlie McCarthy, in which it was stated that “Higbie, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, will be in Israel to provide a close-up look on how Israeli officials are protecting their fellow citizens who live amid constant threats from neighboring countries,” adding:
Included among Higbie’s scheduled stops are tours of Israel’s weapons and aerospace industries, as well as trips to the West Bank and towns that border Syria and Jordan. He’ll speak with local residents to learn their thoughts on such issues as the war in Gaza and talk of a Palestinian homeland.
Higbie also will tour the Knesset in Jerusalem and interview Speaker of the Knesset Amir Ohana.
One show featured a live hit from Gaza filled with more pro-Israel propaganda, as detailed in an Aug. 12 article by Mark Swanson:
From the edge of the Gaza war zone, Newsmax host Carl Higbie delivered a stark assessment of the United States’ role in the rise of the Hamas terrorist group, which continues to wage terror on its own people by disrupting and hijacking humanitarian aid efforts.
Further, the host of “Carl Higbie FRONTLINE,” on special assignment in the Middle East, derailed the narrative that Israel is the cause of mass starvation in Gaza, adding that the only people starving inside Gaza are the remaining hostages. And the culprits: Hamas.
Speaking against the backdrop of Israeli artillery and airstrikes, Higbie said billions of dollars sent to Gaza through U.S. Agency for International Development and other programs — stretching back to the Clinton administration — allowed Hamas to come to power and strengthen its grip on the territory. That funding, he charged, came “under the guise” of humanitarian relief for Palestinians “playing victim” while Iran poured in weapons, training, and other support.
[…]Higbie also corrected the narrative about humanitarian aid to Gazans. He stressed that aid continues to enter Gaza daily. From his vantage point at the border, he described watching Israeli trucks transfer shipments to Arab drivers headed into the territory.
“The actual aid that’s intended for the real victims — the people who don’t have any means to flee — Hamas steals most of it,” he said. “Once it gets to the intended recipients, they tell people not to take it in the streets at gunpoint.”
While much of the world views Gaza through the lens of humanitarian crisis, Higbie delivered a blunt assessment: “The only people starving in Gaza right now are the hostages.”
Higbie also went on to huff about elections after Israel withdrew from Gaza:
Shortly after that, elections were held in Gaza, and Hamas was overwhelmingly elected by the people of Gaza. So when you tell me, “Oh, poor people in Gaza are suffering,” they elected the people who are running that region right now, so my sympathy for these people is pretty limited. It’s their own fault.
As we’ve documented, Hamas won that election in 2006 by portraying itself as a more moderate alternative to the faction then in power, Fatah, which proved to be corrupt. Hamas then became more radical and has not held an election since.
It was not mentioned by either Higbie or Swanson that foreign reporters are not allowed to enter Gaza to cover events there, so he cannot possibly know for sure that “The only people starving in Gaza right now are the hostages” — he’s just repeating what he was told to say. Indeed, it was clear from a shot at the beginning of the segment that Higbie was escorted to the Gaza border by Israeli troops, so he obviously had to make sure he stayed on the proper narrative.
Higbie got a interview with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, but his week was also filled with more pro-Israeli shills, as detailed in summary articles:
- Fleur Hassan-Nahoum to Newsmax: UN Relief Agency Is ‘Toxic’
- Fmr IDF Spokesman to Newsmax: Israel Losing Propaganda War in Gaza
- Huckabee to Newsmax: Hamas Used Aid to Build Tunnels in Gaza
- Gen. Avivi to Newsmax: Israel Poised to Eradicate Hamas
- Knesset Member to Newsmax: Israeli Control of Region Would Bring Peace
- Amir Ohana to Newsmax: Trump Thinks ‘Outside the Box’
- Amir Ohana to Newsmax: Invading Gaza Is Only Option
- Amir Ohana to Newsmax: Put Palestinian State in Paris, London
- Mark Goldfeder to Newsmax: Granting Palestinian State Simply Immoral
On the home front, other Newsmax shows were enforcing the pro-Israel agenda that week:
- Klein to Newsmax: Glad Netanyahu Pushed Back on Gaza Starvation ‘Lie’
- Huckabee to Newsmax: Sen. Sanders Needs ‘Better Facts’ on Gaza
- Israel Foreign Minister to Newsmax: 2-State Solution More Like ‘2-State Illusion’
- Dov Hikind to Newsmax: Israel Needs Truth Tellers Like Newsmax
- Robert O’Neill to Newsmax: Israel Must Eliminate Hamas to End War
Meanwhile, Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy served up his own pro-Israel operation, as detailed in an Aug. 13 article by McCarthy:
Israel “will not allow” its land to be used for the creation of a Palestinian state, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Wednesday.
While sitting next to Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy, who led a delegation of journalists, Sa’ar urged countries promoting a two-state solution to create a Palestinian homeland “within their own territory.”
There was no indication that Ruddy, Higbie or any other Newsmax employee asked any questions of these Israel officials that were remotely challenging during the junket.
Newsmax columnists helped out too. An Aug. 13 column by Ziva Dahl cheered how “In under two years, Israel has shifted from a defensive posture to one of strategic dominance in the Mideast — a transformation forged in crisis after the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of Israelis and others in southern Israel.”