The CNN video starts off promising. Israelis who live in the disputed territories are taking self-defense classes. CNN shows two clips of Palestinian terrorists who have attacked Israelis. Correspondent Ian Lee then interviews some of the people who are learning what to do when faced with a terrorist.
Laura Ben David, one of the participants, tells CNN:
It’s really empowering to feel that you can possibly control the situation, that you are not at the mercy of whomever shows up with a knife.
Remember, this class is taking place shortly after a series of attacks in the area. It’s reasonable that people who are facing terrorists attacks with increasing frequency want to be able to defend themselves. CNN tells viewers that there have been over 200 Palestinian attacks in the last year.
So far so good. If only the video ended there.
But then, CNN clearly wanted to show some twisted notion of “balance.” Perhaps they were worried that the video came out as sympathetic to the position of the settlers.
So we are told that last year, there were over 300 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians. And according to Lee:
Those attacks can turn deadly.
Really? Are Palestinians waiting at bus stops or shopping at the supermarket facing knife-wielding terrorists? Is CNN implying that Palestinians need to take self-defense classes? (Lee actually does say that Palestinians claim they need self-defense.)
Lee actually goes back to 2011 to try and find a “settler attack” which might justify his statement. No mention of any fatalities in the “over 300 attacks” that turned “deadly” last year.
Not only that, but for more information on what happened in 2011, he used the alleged victim’s parents as his sources.
According to his mother:
There is no justice in Israel. Palestinians are attacked and killed every day.
And in a separate interview with his father, we are told that he and his son were simply planting peach trees when a settler mob descended on them and killed his son.
We may not know the details of what led to the death of Yousef Ikhlayyil back in 2011. What we do know is that CNN was unable to find a single example to back up the claim of “deadly attacks” by settlers against Palestinians among the 300 incidents last year. Yet they still broadcast the quotation that settlers are killing Palestinians every day.
What is really unprofessional and misleading is the attempt to equate Israelis’ very reasonable desire to take self-defense classes with old, uncorroborated allegations in the interests of appearing balanced.
And that’s how a good story can turn bad.
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