The Person Covering Palestine-Israel Best Is … Piers Morgan?

I did not expect to receive a volley of texts from my mom sharing … six Piers Morgan clips? “Last video is the one I told you about. I hope you can watch the other videos,” she said. Except we hadn’t discussed any videos. I figured she had likely forwarded the message from her friends in the Egyptian Mom corner of WhatsApp—but still, it was weird. Piers Morgan? Really, Mom?

The clips were all from Piers Morgan Uncensored, the show Morgan started after he dramatically walked off the set of Good Morning Britain, at the more respectable ITV network, when his co-host called attention to the racist undertones in his “trash[ing]” of Meghan Markle. I was admittedly apprehensive to click straight away, particularly given the way he defended Trump in 2017 and rationalized the so-called “Muslim ban.” Since then, Piers Morgan has never exactly been my favorite journalist. But when I saw who Morgan had had on his show, I got as giddy as my mom.

The guest was Bassem Youssef, a beloved, charming, and gut-splittingly hilarious Egyptian. My family is Egyptian too, and I’ve been following Youssef since the 2011 Egyptian revolution. The ex-cardiothoracic surgeon has been dubbed the Egyptian Jon Stewart, but Egyptians understood he was doing much more. He risked a lot to host Al Bernameg (Arabic for “The Program”) in a country without strong protections for journalists, and has been arrested for making fun of key players in the Egyptian government.

His appearance on Piers Morgan did not disappoint. “These Palestinians are so dramatic: Ahh! The Israelis are killing us. But they never die. They always come back. They are very difficult to kill. I know because I’m married to one. I tried many times. Couldn’t kill her,” Youssef said dryly, not smiling. Morgan tried to empathize, saying he understood Youssef’s “dark humor.” But Youssef continued: “She uses our kids as human shields. I can never take her out.”

The entire interview is a string of lovely moments in which a real-life Arab person is at the table in conversation with a Western journalist, rather than being spoken about as an ambiguous theoretical. Youssef was able to undermine the West’s tolerance of journalistic dereliction that relies heavily on the Israeli government as a source for undiminishable truths while writing off Arab sources as untrustworthy. He also perfectly but subtly deployed an a7a, a quirky Egyptian curse word. That little slip made the entire clip feel as if it were just for us.

The interview was viewed nearly 20 million times on YouTube in a week, making it Morgan’s “most-watched,” as he proudly boasted on Twitter (now X). But it is far from the only interview Morgan has done with pro-Palestinian voices, or the only one my mother excitedly shared with me. Morgan has already dedicated much of his show to the war, with as many interviews done for the pro-Palestine side as the pro-Israel side. And he’s doing this in a moment when it’s become increasingly risky to call attention to the suffering of Palestinian civilians both in Gaza and in the West Bank. Further, I think he is far less confrontational with those on the Palestinian side, in a way that feels incredibly distinct from how it often plays out in the media, which struggles to adequately acknowledge Palestinian pain.

A perfect example of this is from the BBC, in which Palestinian Ambassador Husam Zomlot describes losing seven members of his family in an airstrike, after their home was blown up and collapsed onto them, leaving the only survivors, 2-year-old twins, in intensive care. Not a moment after he finishes explaining this horrific situation, the presenter asks him to condemn Hamas. “My cousin is not Hamas!” the ambassador says. “Her husband works for the Palestinian Authority, the opponents of Hamas! These kids, 4 years and 2 years, have nothing to do with Hamas!”

To my surprise, one of the clips my mother shared with me was an interview that very same ambassador did—with Morgan. This clip was far less charming than Youssef’s, and frankly heartbreaking, but to Morgan’s huge credit, he gave Zomlot ample time to make his case, to refute some of the things the Israeli ambassador had also said on Morgan’s show, and to broadly discuss Western bias against Palestinians. Morgan’s interviews with Hasan Piker, Cenk Uygur, Mohammed Hijab, and Lowkey continue this trend: Each of them is given time on the program to criticize Morgan and others in the media for what they argue is an exercise in journalistic malpractice. I’ve become so accustomed to the casual everyday deployment of dehumanizing language and genocidal rhetoric toward Palestinians in both Western media and politics that it’s genuinely surprising to see meaningful discussions about the Nakba, the slow annexation and humiliation of Palestine, and even criticisms of the current U.S. policy of giving Israel freedom to take revenge on the entire Gaza Strip for the violence of just Hamas.

Morgan’s approach seems simple enough: have on the program as many people from as wide an array of opinions as possible, and let them make their case to him on the air. He gives each guest a considerable amount of airtime too, some stretching beyond 30 minutes—which may not sound like a lot until you compare it to other segments on broadcast news, which rarely surpass a few minutes before moving on.

Morgan’s approach has been getting noticed, and he is happy to take in this praise. His program’s X account has already called its coverage of the conflict “world-leading,” which, I mean, ugh, I’m inclined to agree. Responses from pro-Palestinian X accounts, though hesitant, are also showering him with praise.

Morgan is even flirting with calling to free Palestine. It happened in a tweet of his: “The oppression of Palestinian people has been totally unacceptable, and peace will never be possible until they are afforded freedom & equality. But it should be possible to believe that, and to condemn the horrifying terror attacks on Israel on Oct7.” It’s a surprisingly refreshing take, given that many leaders of the Western world barely acknowledge the existence of an occupation at all, and the list of journalists being fired for making similar remarks is ever expanding.

At a time when social media bubbles often exacerbate polarization and misinformation, Morgan’s seemingly sincere commitment to fostering meaningful dialogue stands out. After watching the clips my mother shared with me, I doubled back to watch his interviews with pro-Israel voices like Ben Shapiro, Chris Christie, and Ehud Barak. After watching it all, I must say that I felt I had learned a lot. I can better understand why Israelis feel singled out—even if I wouldn’t agree that they are. Morgan deserves his flowers for that as well.

It still feels weird to commend a journalist for doing normal journalism. Platforming a variety of voices is the bare minimum here. But pro-Palestine positions are often mischaracterized or maliciously written off as “pro-Hamas”—best exemplified by former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s argument that “if the international media is objective, it serves Hamas. If it just shows both sides, it serves Hamas.” While Morgan’s style may not be without controversy (many argue that he interrupts one side more than the other), he is still risking a lot in affording pro-Palestinian perspectives any airtime at all.

Who knew that Piers Morgan would turn out to be the gold standard for how to talk about Israel and Palestine? But if you judge TV hosts more by their guest lists than their own positions, there’s really no one better on the subject. Bassem Youssef seemed delighted after their interview too. On Twitter, he asked Morgan to go for “round 2,” calling him “gracious” for inviting him on despite having blocked him on the platform. “I HATE your views Piers. But talking to you is an absolute joy. Let’s do it again,” he said. I’m excited to see that this Round 2 interview has been scheduled, and is being promoted with a very cheesy, yet very exciting graphic. I’ll be tuning in.