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Rupert Murdoch's Son Not Pro-Israel
The pro-Israel stance of the Wall Street Journal and many News Corp. properties could be in jeopardy if Rupert Murdoch’s son James gains control of the company, a new book discloses. The recently published diaries of Alastair Campbell, who served as British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s press secretary and closest confidante, recounts an obscenity-laced tirade by James Murdoch during a private dinner with his father, Blair, and several others at 10 Downing Street in January 2002. Rupert Murdoch "was at one point putting the traditional very right-wing view on Israel and the Middle East peace process and James said that he was ‘talking f—- nonsense,’” Campbell writes in "The Blair Years: The Alastair Campbell Diaries.” "[Rupert] Murdoch said he didn’t see what the Palestinians’ problem was and James said that it was that they were kicked out of their f—- homes and had nowhere to f—- live.”
Story Continues Below Rupert Murdoch rebuked James, 35, saying "he didn’t think he should talk like that in the Prime Minster’s house.” James Murdoch runs News Corp.’s BSkyB satellite broadcasting division, and has been closely involved in the company’s $5 billion bid to buy Dow Jones, which publishes the Journal, the New York Sun reports. "It is widely assumed in financial and publishing circles that James Murdoch would have ultimate responsibility for overseeing operations at the Journal if the takeover bid is successful,” the Sun observes. James is also seen as the likely successor to Rupert as chairman of News Corp. if the elder Murdoch, 76, retires. Alexander Safian, a spokesman for the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, an advocate for Israel, said a number of News Corp. properties, including Fox News and the New York Post, usually take a pro-Israel position, and the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page is "very pro-Israel.”
Pro-Israel lobbyist Morris Amitay told the Sun that James’ outburst reflected poorly on the younger Murdoch. "For a son to say his father was talking f-— nonsense, that’s a little bothersome – particularly in that venue.”
© NewsMax 2007. All rights reserved.
Editor's note:
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics: Inside Cover Stories
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