Samuel Wurzelbacher, better known as Joe the Plumber, arrived in the battered southern Israel town of Sderot on Sunday to provide coverage of war-weary Israelis he believes is missing from mainstream media coverage.
"I want the average American Joes to understand the story here from the point of view of someone like them," Wurzelbacher told a local television station in his hometown of Toledo, Ohio prior to departing for the Middle East.
Upon arrival as a correspondent for the Internet news websites PJTV and Pajamas Media, Wurzelbacher wasted no time blasting the mainstream media over its biased coverage.
"You should be patriotic, protect your family and children, not report like you have been doing for the past two weeks since this war has started," he told other foreign reporters.
Wurzelbacher has been granted a temporary Government Press Office card and will be providing video and written reports from Sderot and other frontline Israeli communities for the duration of the Gaza War.
Under the monicker "Joe the Plumber," Wurzelbacher won international fame during the US presidential election when he pointedly took Barack Obama to task over his economic policies during a Q&A session when the president-elect made a campaign stop in Toledo.
Following the encounter, Wurzelbacher was courted by the campaign of Republican candidate John McCain. He later warned in an interview that a vote for Obama was a vote for the "death of Israel."