Rula Jebreal, whose contract as an MSNBC contributor ended last month, on Sunday criticized the network for suddenly describing her as a Palestinian journalist.
“I felt terrible because I was hired by MSNBC and for two years I was labeled as analyst, journalist, foreign policy expert, contributor. I was never labeled a Palestinian journalist," she said on CNN's "Reliable Sources."
Jebreal said that there's no reason to label her by her ethnicity, especially when she's been counted on in the past to weigh in on issues across the Middle East as a journalist and expert.
"Is this how we label people? I think whoever is doing this PR campaign for MSNBC needs to rethink these issues," she said.
She then suggested that MSNBC labeled her that way to make her seem "emotional."
"Did I become Palestinian because this way you can describe me as emotional and as biased, and this way can avoid debate as to who is really biased on this issues?" she asked.
Jebreal was not forced out of her contract with MSNBC, but chose to pursue other opportunities.
"If I wanted to stay, I would have stayed," she told TPM on Wednesday.
She also criticized MSNBC for calling her a Palestinian journalist on Wednesday, even though she calls herself a "Palestinian Journalist" on one part of her website.
