The AP reports an HDNet crew working for “Dan Rather Reports” was harassed and humiliated by Israeli security officials.
One of Rather’s producers, Andrew Glazer, wrote a letter in protest to Israeli officials about the January incident. That letter was obtained by the AP.
Glazer said problems mounted after they arrived. He said they were held up for hours at security checks. Israeli soldiers barred the crew’s veteran Palestinian cameramen — a Jerusalem resident — from accompanying Rather to a West Bank neighborhood. And then came the strip search before an interview with Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor.
Advertisement“Mr. Rather said that in his career, he had never seen a crew forced to strip prior to an interview — including the one he conducted with Saddam Hussein,” Glazer wrote.
Rather’s crew was in the region to do a story about improving Israeli-Palestinian relations which was pitched by Israel’s Foreign Ministry.
Last month, Rather wrote about his recent trip to the region — his first in 10 years.