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The Guardian Removes Statements Questioning Jewish Responsibility For Fire

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UPDATE

The Guardian has responded in an email to HonestReporting by stating that it published the original AFP story that, at that point in time, did not include any comment from the Israeli security services. Pointedly, The Guardian also acknowledges that it received an updated AFP copy some hours later. This update, however, was neither published nor added to the original.

Granted, The Guardian’s article was correct at the time that it originally published. Yet, the editors, despite receiving the AFP update, did not amend the story. Plenty of time has passed and other media outlets have included the most up-to-date information so why not The Guardian?

Having been called on this, will The Guardian take the appropriate action?

HRsuccessUPDATE – SUCCESS

We are glad to say that The Guardian has now updated its article with the relevant information as a result of correspondence with HonestReporting.

UPDATE – SUCCESS 2

The Independent has also responded positively to our request, adding the following to its story:

“Israeli police reportedly said they did not believe the attack had been carried out by Jewish extremists.”

 

* * *

A fire at the home of a key Palestinian witness in the case against the Jewish terrorists responsible for the deaths of a Palestinian toddler and his parents last year is being treated as suspicious. Unsurprisingly, Palestinians have blamed “Jewish settlers” for this latest incident.

According to Israeli media, however:

But the Israel Police and Shin Bet, in a joint statement Sunday night, said mounting evidence indicated it was not a nationalistic attack. “The findings thus far at the scene are not consistent with the characteristics of a deliberate arson attack by Jews,” it said.

A number of media outlets, including the LA Times and Wall Street Journal included this piece of important information.

So did the AFP in its wire report, which was also picked up by The Guardian.

But a comparison between the two articles reveals that The Guardian has edited out parts of the original AFP copy. The Guardian’s story no longer contains any reference to the statements of Israeli authorities calling into question the assumption that Jewish extremists were responsible.

This is a serious case of selective omission where it appears that a copy editor has deliberately removed entire paragraphs of the original piece, thereby skewing the story against Israel.

The Guardian wasn’t the only media outlet to omit this information. The Independent also failed  while NBC News published an AP report and failed to amend it after the AP updated its own copy.

A request from HonestReporting that the relevant sections of the AFP story are restored by The Guardian has been sent, while The Independent and NBC News have also been contacted. Watch this space.

 

Photo by Flash 90.

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With overall responsibility for HonestReporting’s content and output, Simon was part of the HonestReporting team from November 2005 to 2020, following several years working in a variety of non-profit organizations, including the Jewish Agency and the Board of Deputies of British Jews prior to immigrating to Israel in 2001 from London. In Israel, Simon has worked for BICOM and as Managing Editor of NGO Monitor as well as serving for a short period in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. Simon has a BSoc.Sc in International Studies and Political Science from the University of Birmingham and a MSc in History of International Relations from the London School of Economics.

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