Following Wednesday night’s terror attack in Tel Aviv’s Sarona market that left four people dead and 16 wounded CNN inspired outrage with its headline when it put the word “terrorists” in quotations on its Facebook page.
Additionally, the news agency failed to mention terrorism even once in the article reporting the ordeal.
Similarly, the British news network SKY also neglected to use the word “terror” or “terrorism” in their report of the attack at Sarona.
The BBC’s headline “Tel Aviv shooting: Three killed in attack in shopping centre attack” was also markedly void of the keywords.
The Telegraph as well as the Guardian also labeled the terror attack as “shooting” incidences in their headlines.
If you ever needed proof that @RT_com isn’t a serious news org, this headline is it. pic.twitter.com/wlmMc4mBJ6
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) June 8, 2016
In contrast to the dismay generated by the news agencies’ misrepresentation of the terror attack, Fox news anchor Greta Van Susteren personally came to Israel’s defense when she posted a video “off the record” on her private Facebook page.
In the video, Van Susteren shared her condolences with the “innocent Israeli victims” who were at Sarona market last night “just out on a nice summer eve in Tel Aviv.”
The news anchor added that she hoped that representatives around the world also convey their sorrow and reminded them of Israel’s immediate response to help in international crises.
A number of international news forums, including the BBC and CNN networks, have angered Israelis for their misleading headlines about Wednesday’s fatal terror attack in Tel Aviv’s Sarona Market which claimed the lives of four Israelis.
CNN for example, referred to the terrorist in quotation marks. This is not the first time the site has cast doubt over the terrorist motivations of an attack when perpetrated in Israel. Indeed, in December 2015, Israel demanded an explanation from the US news network for what it described as “dishonest and unethical journalism.” in its coverage of a stabbing attack which took place in Jerusalem’s Old city.
The BBC headline reporting the attack avoided the use of the term ‘terror’ at all: ‘Tel Aviv shooting: Three killed in shopping center attack.’ Like CNN, BBC has also come under serious criticism in the past for its apparent biased reporting on terror attacks in Israel. In October, 2015 a stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City which resulted in the death of two Israelis at the hands of a 19-year-old Palestinian, was reported: ‘Palestinian shot dead after Jerusalem attack kills two.’
Several other news sites have also followed in a similar fashion. Headlines in Sky News, The Guardian and The Telegraph also omitted any mention of the nature of Wednesday’s attack while The New York Times referred to the terrorists as “Palestinian gunmen.” By contrast, Fox News headlines led with “Terror in Israel.”