Joe the Plumber Argues with Israeli Reporters

Joe Wurzelbacher, aka “Joe the Plumber,” clashed with Israeli reporters in Sderot this weekend, challenging them to accept that Israel has a right to protect itself from Hamas.

Wurzelbacher was swarmed by several cameramen and reporters while interviewing a citizen on the street as part of his reporting job with Pajamas Media, a conservative website affiliated with several political blogs. He asked what media outlets the reporters represented–they were with Reuters and Israel’s Channel 10–and told them he was “not the story” they should be looking for.

See a video (subscription only) of the exchange here.

“You guys want a good story, right? That’s why you’re here?” Wurzelbacher asked.

“Yeah,” one of the reporters responded.

“Okay,” Wurzelbacher said, “One, I’m not the story. I’m just an average guy. The story here is: people are being killed. And the media’s slanting it and trying to make it Hamas’s ah, as far as, you know, Israel’s being bad.”

“Do you believe Israel’s bad?” Wurzelbacher challenged, pointing at a cameraman.

The Israeli cameraman responded that he was from Israel and did not think Israel was bad.

“No? Do you think Isreal has every right to protect itself?” Wurzelbacher asked.

The cameraman said he did.

Wurzelbacher asked if the cameraman had said so on the air. “I’m just a reporter,” the cameraman responded.

Wurzelbacher made headlines earlier this month when Pajamas Media hired him to cover the Gaza conflict.