Guardian’s Cycle of Poor Reporting

The Guardian's coverage of Thursday's terror attack near Eilat, Palestinian rockets on southern Israel and Israeli responses continues the paper's…

By Simon Plosker August 22, 2011

The Guardian’s coverage of Thursday’s terror attack near Eilat, Palestinian rockets on southern Israel and Israeli responses continues the paper’s long history of anti-Israel bias.

What about the Israeli victims?

The 8 dead Israelis and dozens more who were injured in the terror attack appear to have gone unnoticed, with the focus of this article firmly on Egyptian casualties:

Israel moved swiftly to contain an escalating crisis with its ally Egypt following last Thursday’s cross-border attack by Palestinian militants in which at least three Egyptian police oficers were killed.

In The Guardian’s eyes, the terror attack is referred to as a “cross-border” attack while Israeli responses are part of a “cycle of rocket fire from Gaza and Israeli air strikes” – a clear case of moral equivalence.

Moral Equivalence

Indeed, in an earlier article, the headline and the lead paragraph tell the same story of moral equivalence:

Israel and Gaza trade missiles and rockets in wake of bloodshed

Palestinian militants and Israeli forces traded rockets and missiles on Friday in a cycle of attack and counter-attack, as funerals took place in both Israel and Gaza following the bloodshed a day earlier.

“Suspected Militants”

At what point do terrorists who have already carried out attacks on Israeli civilian targets cease to be “suspected”? According to The Guardian:

Israel has pledged to investigate the deaths, which Egyptian officials say happened during a shoot-out between Israeli forces and suspected Palestinian militants. …

Egyptian officials say Israeli forces chased the suspected militants across the border, and a number of people were killed – including the police officers.

Distorted Priorities

The day after the terrorist attack, The Guardian demonstrated where its priorities lie by posting an online video: Israeli police and Palestinian youths clash in Jerusalem. The short footage itself of Israeli police on horseback deploying a water cannon to disperse a crowd of Palestinian youths is positively tame in comparison to scenes witnessed in the UK only a few weeks ago.

Yet, The Guardian couldn’t help itself, following a consistently anti-Israel agenda throughout the events of the past few days.

Send your considered comments to The Guardian – [email protected]

 

© Divuach Ne’eman R”A, 2025

Simon Plosker

Simon Plosker

With over two decades of experience in various non-governmental organizations in the UK and Israel, Simon Plosker returned to HonestReporting in October 2022 as Editorial Director having previously been part of the organization’s management team from 2005 to 2020.

Prior to his first spell at HonestReporting, Simon worked in Israel for NGO Monitor, BICOM, and served for a short period in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. He was Managing Editor of the Geneva-based NGO United Nations Watch for two years before moving back to the frontline defending Israel from media bias.

Simon has a BSoc.Sc in International Studies and Political Science from the University of Birmingham and an MSc in History of International Relations from the London School of Economics. He immigrated to Israel in 2001 from London.

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