Skip to main content

The world loves dead Jews

How foreign media downplayed the murder of a 12-year-old Jewish boy 

While Israeli media directly reported on a terrorist attack that killed a child, international outlets appeared more concerned with maintaining what they consider neutrality - even at the cost of reporting what actually happened. 

Article image

When a terrorist opened fire on a bus full of families near Jerusalem last night (Wednesday), killing a 12-year-old boy, major international news outlets seemed to perform linguistic gymnastics to avoid calling it what it was - a terror attack.

Reuters ran this with remarkably cautious headline: "Suspected Palestinian shooting attack on Israeli bus kills child." The word "suspected" particularly stood out, given that the attacker had already surrendered and confessed to the shooting.

Subscribe to our newsletter
Article image

CNN went even further in its attempt at "neutral" language. Their headline delicately sidestepped any mention of terrorism: "Child killed after shooting attack on civilian Israeli bus in West Bank." Throughout their coverage, the network referred to the perpetrator as an "attacker" or "shooter" - never a terrorist - even though he had deliberately targeted a civilian bus carrying families returning from a celebration.

Article image

"It's remarkable how international media can make a clear-cut case of terrorism sound like a traffic incident," noted one Israeli media analyst, speaking on condition of anonymity. "When a gunman specifically targets a bus full of civilians and fires 23 bullets at them, what else would you call it?"

Both networks made sure to include the phrase "occupied West Bank" in their coverage, maintaining their standard editorial guidelines even while reporting on the death of a child. The linguistic tightrope walk continued throughout their coverage, with carefully curated phrases that seemed designed to avoid taking any position - even on the targeting of civilians.

"When media outlets work so hard to avoid calling terrorism by its name," one Israeli journalist observed, "you have to wonder what they're really trying to achieve with their objectivity."

Subscribe to our newsletter
Subscribe to our newsletter

Join our newsletter to receive updates on new articles and exclusive content.

We respect your privacy and will never share your information.

Stay Connected With Us

Follow our social channels for breaking news, exclusive content, and real-time updates.

WhatsApp Updates

Join our news group

Follow on X (Twitter)

@JFeedIsraelNews

Follow on Instagram

@jfeednews

Never miss a story - follow us on your preferred platform!

0

Loading comments...