Sderot to Moscow Sderot to Moscow

CNN moves reporter after ‘scum’ tweet

Diana Magnay claims she was upset after Israelis in Sderot threatened her, hurled stones at filming crew

By AP and ToI Staff 19 July 2014, 10:13 am 16

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CNN reporter Diana Magnay during a live broadcast from the southern Israeli city of Sderot (photo credit: YouTube screen capture)

CNN pulled reporter Diana Magnay out of the Middle East after she referred to a group of Israelis who had allegedly threatened her while she was reporting on Gaza as “scum” in a tweet.

Magnay was reporting live on the air as a group watched the Israeli bombardment of Gaza around her. After the report was over, she wrote on Twitter: “Israelis on hill above Sderot cheer as bombs land on #gaza; threaten to ‘destroy our car if I say a word wrong.’ Scum.”

CNN said in a statement Friday that Magnay was referring specifically to those who threatened her and apologized for her words.

Magnay later told CNN administrators that a group of Israelis had hurled stones at her and her film crew, adding that the tweet had been composed during an emotional outburst, according to Ynet. She stressed that she did not intended to offend the Israeli public.

Magnay was reassigned to Moscow only a short while after the incident, CNN said.