A glimpse into how the Guardian reported Palestinian terrorism in 1974

A Palestinian Media Watch bulletin on Feb. 28 revealed that a recent Palestinian Authority broadcast paid tribute to the terrorists (from the group, Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine) who committed the Ma’alot Massacre in 1974 in which 22 children were brutally murdered inside an elementary school.  

Pictures of the terrorists, labeled as “martyrs”, with their weapons were seen during the PA broadcast – another act of state sanctioned incitement which will likely go unreported by the mainstream media or the Guardian.

Poster glorifying terrorists of the Ma'alot massacre in 1974, which killed 22 children and 4 adults
Poster shown on PA TV glorifying terrorists
of the Ma’alot massacre in 1974

Here’s a brief summary of the massacre:

On May 15, 1974 three Palestinian terrorists, disguised as IDF soldiers, who infiltrated Israel from Lebanon, entered an apartment in Ma’alot in the Galilee killing a family, including a four-year old boy.  They then stormed the town’s Netiv Meir elementary school. The terrorists kept 115 Israelis hostage (including 105 children) and threatened to murder them all unless Israel released 23 Palestinian terrorists from prison. The IDF attempted a rescue operation, but the terrorists opened fire on the children and threw hand grenades killing 22 children and 4 adults. Dozens more were wounded. 

Upon researching the Ma’alot Massacre, I found a 2011 documentary on the attack titled ‘Their eyes were dry‘, and while viewing the trailer I came across this still shot.

massacre
The Guardian: May 16, 1974

A few elements of the Guardian story are striking, especially in contrast to how the paper covers Palestinian terrorism today.

The story appears to have been the lead.

The report is illustrated with a wrenching photo of one of the bloodied Israeli children.

Though the snapshot from the video is blurry, the story appears to open with the words, “Sixteen Israeli schoolchildren were killed tonight and 70 wounded by Arab terrorists…”.  The focus is on the victims.  The perpetrators were not described, per the author, Eric Silver, as “militants” (or some other euphemism), but, rather, “terrorists”.

The terrorists are referred to as “Arab”, not “Palestinian”.

Finally, though the strap line lurches towards something suggesting sympathy for the terrorists – by characterizing them as “trapped” – the headline aptly describes the event as a “massacre”.

It’s inconceivable that such terrorist savagery would be reported similarly today.

It’s difficult, short of scouring the Guardian Archives, to say for sure when the Guardian – a truly liberal and Zionist paper under the leadership, and subsequent legacy, of former owner C.P. Scott – began to first turn on the Jewish state.  However, in 1974 (based on their coverage of the Ma’alot Massacre) they were still willing to unambiguously inform their readers that cold-blooded fanatics had murdered innocent Jewish children.

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