The prime-time show anchored by Mehdi Hasan, one of the strongest advocates of the Palestinian cause on American news networks, has been cancelled by MSNBC network.

The decision was first reported by the news website Semafor on Thursday. The host of The Mehdi Hasan Show is a British-born journalist known for his hard-hitting interviews. He is a rare critic of Israeli policies on USA cable news and has a huge fanbase. The show was broadcast live on Sundays at 8 pm US Eastern time and covered national politics, current affairs, and global news.

Mehdi Hasan will instead now become an on-camera analyst and guest host. His weekend show will be replaced by an additional hour of Ayman, the news program hosted by Ayman Mohyeldin.

Hasan was recently very vocal about Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip. Earlier in November, he interviewed Mark Regev, senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s former ambassador to the UK, questioning him firmly on the high Palestinian civilian death toll, the Palestinian children that were killed by the Israeli military, and related matters.
Hasan asked: “They’re people your government has killed. You’ve killed children. You accept that, right? Or do you deny that?”
To which Regev replied: “No, I do not.”

"That was also a mistake"

I asked Prime Minister Netanyahu's senior adviser Mark Regev about the Israeli spokesmen who have falsely claimed that there were terrorist names on a hospital calendar & that Palestinians were faking their injuries on camera:pic.twitter.com/UGLsEktyFf

— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) November 17, 2023

MSNBC President Rashida Jones said the reshuffle aims to “better position” the network as it heads into the 2024 US elections.

Before what is reportedly the official cancellation of the Mehdi Hasan show, MSNBC faced criticism for temporarily taking Muslim anchors off air during the war in Gaza. The current decision has also attracted a lot of criticism.

Noura Erakat slammed the network by saying “He should be amplified, not shut down.”

MSNBC cancels Mehdi Hasan’s show@msnbc make this make sense. @mehdirhasan’s program has felt like an oasis on air and more needed than ever. His program w Mark Regev was a whole class on journalistic method. He should be amplified,not shut down. https://t.co/r5Saq1ssdm#Gaza

— Noura Erakat (@4noura) November 30, 2023

Columnist and Journalist Owen Jones praised Mehdi’s interviewing skills and said, “Look what’s happening: the few mainstream voices who challenge Israel’s mass slaughter of Gaza are under attack.”

There's no better interviewer than Mehdi Hasan: forensic, razor-sharp, an encyclopaedic knowledge.

So @MSNBC have now cancelled his show.

Look what's happening: the few mainstream voices who challenge Israel's mass slaughter of Gaza are under attack. https://t.co/UYy6LoQwqj

— Owen Jones (@OwenJones84) November 30, 2023

US journalist David Sirota noted that Hasan has reported critically on both Republicans and Democrats.
“Canceling him is another step in the deliberate homogenization of news content into pure red-vs-blue infotainment,” Sirota wrote on X.

The thing is, @mehdirhasan has been one of the only people in cable TV news who has been willing to report critically on both parties. Canceling him is another step in the deliberate homogenization of news content into pure red-vs-blue infotainment. https://t.co/fsQfNsSkKE

— David Sirota (@davidsirota) November 30, 2023

Host and author Charlie Skyes appreciated Mehdi and called him the most gifted interviewer in US Media.

We come from different ends of the political spectrum and often disagree, but I’m sick at heart over all this.

⁦@mehdirhasan⁩ is
a once in a generation talent; The most gifted interviewer in US media, and nothing has changed my opinion about that https://t.co/aycNeNAQtK

— Charlie Sykes (@SykesCharlie) December 1, 2023

Kenneth Roth, former director of Human Right’s Watch proclaimed the decision as outrageous.

It is outrageous that @MSNBC is canceling the show of @mehdirhasan. He is a superb interviewer for getting at the truth, and has been an honest, principled, and outspoken critic of Israel's conduct in Gaza. Was his criticism behind this move? https://t.co/dQOn93Loua

— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) November 30, 2023

Race theorist and author Tim Wise lambasted MSNBC that the network should be ashamed of its decision.

Canceling Mehdi Hasan's show makes no sense, except as retaliation for his honest approach to the attack on Gaza and general unwillingness to pander to bad faith actors in the name of "balance." @MSNBC should be ashamed.

— Tim Wise (@timjacobwise) November 30, 2023