The international media’s coverage of the Hezbollah rocket attack that killed 12 children playing soccer in a predominantly Druze town in northern Israel was generally appalling.
From Sky News omitting that all casualties were children in their headline describing a strike on a “football pitch,” to The Washington Post’s context-free summary labeling Hezbollah’s actions as simply “attacks in Gaza and Golan Heights.”
However, just hours later on Monday, Sky News reached a new low with a report by their special correspondent, Alex Crawford, detailing the aftermath of the rocket attack in Lebanon.
Under the headline “‘We don’t fear death’: Israel’s threats to Hezbollah after Golan Heights missile strike have only hardened supporters’ attitudes,” Crawford prominently highlights Hezbollah’s vehement denials of involvement in the attack, yet omits the fact that the group had earlier that day boasted about launching at least 100 rockets at Israel.
Indeed, a few paragraphs into the piece, Crawford quotes an impassioned female Hezbollah supporter’s assertion that it couldn’t be behind the attack because “why would Hezbollah want to make conflict between Arabs.”
It’s a rhetorical question that deserves an answer: Hezbollah’s denial came only after it was clear the victims were not Israeli Jews.
Dear @SkyNews,
Thank you for your empathy for the loss of 12 children murdered by Hezbollah. Israelis want and deserve security and to return safely home. Your calling that a “lust for revenge” while our children are being buried is deeply offensive.https://t.co/IIZrgMfOVD pic.twitter.com/L3Lj6OoNAq— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) July 29, 2024
But the most disturbing part of the piece wasn’t the omissions or Crawford’s almost sympathetic portrayal of the terror group as unflinching in the face of “threats and accusations from their Israeli neighbours,” it was a few words included in the very last line:
The war has entered a very dangerous stage and the Lebanese authorities who’re in direct contact with their Hezbollah partners are urging restraint whilst encouraging the Americans to leverage pressure on the Israelis to reign [sic] in their lust for revenge.“
HonestReporting swiftly condemned the outrageous libel in a widely shared post on the social media site X, rallying our supporters to lodge complaints with Sky News and Alex Crawford.
But rather than retracting the accusation when social media users noted its resemblance to ancient blood libels, Crawford doubled down, posting a mocking response to a comment by British journalist and editor of the Jewish Chronicle, Jake Wallis Simons.
Alex Crawford knew that accusing Jews of having a “lust for revenge” was a 2,000 year old trope, that’s why she wrote it. When challenged, she doubles down, trolling Jews, because trolling Jews was the whole point.
The subtext of her reply “…as demonstrated over the last 9… pic.twitter.com/OyDoGelqKV
— Saul Sadka (@Saul_Sadka) July 29, 2024
Crawford claimed that this alleged Israeli “lust for revenge” had been “demonstrated over the last 9 months,” implying that the vile charge was evidenced by “starvation” in Gaza.
Sky News must now take action. Not only should it issue a retraction and apology, but it also needs to consider whether it wants its journalists perpetuating harmful stereotypes and making unprofessional remarks on social media. Such behavior undermines journalistic integrity and damages Sky’s reputation.
We urge our supporters to voice their concerns and demand accountability by contacting Sky News directly
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Credits: Erez Ben Simon via TPS; Michael Giladi via Flash90; John Stillwell/WPA-Pool via Getty Images
© Divuach Ne’eman R”A, 2025
