CNN comes under fire for calling Tel Aviv shooters ‘terrorists’ in quote marks
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) CNN came under fire Wednesday for its social media reporting on the Palestinian terrorist shooting attack in Tel Aviv that left four Israelis dead and seven others wounded.
The breaking news update on CNN’s Twitter account presented the word “terrorists” in quote marks, angering dozens of followers, who wondered why the news outlet would qualify its report despite the clear nature of Wednesday’s incident. CNN tweeted, “Two ‘terrorists’ captured after Tel Aviv attack, Israeli police spokesman tweets.”
“Take the quote marks off terrorists when that is exactly what they are! It’s not a subjective noun or adjective; civilians murdered,” one Twitter user wrote.
“Did the ‘terrorist’ ‘murder’ four ‘innocent’ people? What ‘wonderful’ reporters you have,” another user posted.
4 Israelis killed in Palestinian terrorist shooting in Tel Aviv
(JNS.org) Four Israelis were killed and an additional seven wounded on Wednesday in a Palestinian terrorist shooting at the popular Sarona food and retail market in Tel Aviv.
The Israelis killed in the attack were identified as Ido Ben Ari, 42, of Ramat Gan; Ilana Neve, 39, of Tel Aviv; Michael Feige, 58, of Givatayim; and Mila Mishayev, 32, of Ashkelon.
Magen David Adom treated the wounded on the scene. Reports by police indicated that the shooters disguised themselves as Orthodox Jews. Police said the shooters dined at the Max Brenner restaurant before executing the terror attack. Police later confirmed that the terrorists were 21-year-olds Muhammad and Khalid Muhamra, cousins from the Palestinian village of Yatta near Hebron.
“I was sitting next to Max Brenner when I saw the shots. They shot without stopping in all directions. I ran to the Super Pharm (pharmacy) and he ran toward me. I was told to hide and tried to run,” said a woman who hid in a nearby bookstore, as translated from a Hebrew-language report in Yedioth Ahronoth.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an emergency cabinet meeting after the terrorist attack.
“This was the scene of a very difficult incident,” Netanyahu told reporters. “Heinous terrorists committed cold-blooded murder. I want to extend my condolences to the [victims’] families, whose worlds have just fallen apart, and wish the wounded a speedy recovery. We have just discussed a series of offensive and defensive measures that we plan to take to fight this serious phenomenon of shooting attacks. This is a challenge, and we will rise to meet it. Naturally, we also expect maximum vigilance from the public. There will be vigorous police and military action, not just to find anyone who may have aided this murder, but to prevent further attacks. We are in the midst of a difficult time, and we will exercise discretion and determination.”
The Palestinian terror wave of stabbings, shootings, and car-rammings has now claimed the lives of 38 people since last September.
The office of Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas said the PA “reaffirms its rejection of all operations that target civilians from any background regardless of the justifications.”
“Achieving a just peace and creating a positive climate is what [will] contribute to removing the causes of tension and violence in the region….Achieving peace requires everyone to stop taking any action that will increase tensions and resorting to violence,” said the Palestinian statement, according to Yedioth Ahronoth.
Yet Palestinians were seen celebrating the deadly attack on Wednesday, including Palestinians in the city of Tulkarem who handed out candy to passing cars, Israel National News reported.
“Throughout my visit with my delegation we wanted to learn about the extraordinary developments which Israel has made, especially in agriculture, which we look at with wonder each time we see it. You have done wonderful things in the field of water. There are a lot of similarities between Liberia and Israel. I wish to thank Israel for its help during our Ebola crisis, when Israel joined other forces and bilateral initiatives for the purpose of helping us beat this disease,” Sirleaf said in a meeting with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.
During a speech to accept an honorary doctorate from the University of Haifa on Tuesday she also said in response to a question about solving the Israel-Palestinian conflict that “barriers need to be broken down, not built up,” Yedioth Achronoth reported.
Sirleaf is expected to meet with other Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Liberia has gained a lot of experience from Israel in regards to our development goals. While this friendship was put on hold during the conflict in Liberia, I am happy because since I was elected President of Liberia in 2006, we have renewed the cooperation between us,” said Sirleaf, the first woman to be elected as the head of an African state.
Sirleaf and Rivlin also discussed terrorism that Sirleaf said “can undermine the peace we have had,” adding that she welcomes any knowledge and intelligence that Israel could provide Liberia on the issue.
Rivlin also requested Sirleaf’s assistance in encouraging her colleagues to grant Israel observer status in the African Union, to which she noted that African countries have “friends on both sides,” but she would help in any way she could.
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The head of the Israeli Rabbinical Courts Administration’s Agunot (a term loosely meaning “chained women” in Hebrew) Department, Rabbi Eliyahu Maimo, who spoke at the conference, described earlier this month how in one recent case the rabbinate was forced to hire several private detectives to locate a divorce-refusing husband.
“We followed him as he rode his electric bicycle home. There he was placed under arrest, sat in jail for 24 hours—and this morning he gave the get,” Maimo told Israel National News.
“We arrest some 30-50 men each year for this purpose, and 95 percent of them give a get within a day of being arrested. In this case, the man gained nothing over these ten years, other than having to live underground for all that time. We would like to make it clear to everyone: A man who refuses to give a get, there is no point in hiding,” he said.
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