Earlier in the week, we complained to Guardian editors about a long-read by Joshua Leifer, (“Kahane’s ghost: how a long-dead extremist rabbi continues to haunt Israel’s politics“, March 20), which included the following:
On 25 February 1994, Baruch Goldstein…entered Hebron’s Ibrahimi mosque and opened fire on Muslim worshippers, killing 29 Palestinians. Two months later…Hamas launched its first suicide bombing in the northern Israeli city of Afula as an act of retribution.
As we noted to editors, Leifer’s timeline isn’t accurate.
The first Hamas suicide bombing was actually carried out on April 16, 1993 – ten months prior to Goldstein’s attack, thus contradicting Leifer’s desired narrative that Hamas launched its first such bombing as an act of retribution for the Goldstein massacre. In fact, in 2007, CAMERA prompted the Economist to correct an article which initially included that same false claim. Additionally, in 2018, we prompted the The Times to correct an essay which contained that error.
On 25 February 1994, Baruch Goldstein…entered Hebron’s Ibrahimi mosque and opened fire on Muslim worshippers, killing 29 Palestinians. Two months later…Hamas launched its first suicide bombing against civilians within Israel proper, in the northern Israeli city of Afula as an act of retribution. (The organisation had carried out suicide bombings in the occupied territories the previous year.)
The following editor’s note acknowledging the correction was added:
