[WikiEN-l] Anti-Israeli bias in Current Events

[Poor, Edmund W]

The following news story has an anti-Israeli bias:

:Two Palestinians are killed by Israeli troops returning fire after an
Israeli soldier was killed at an observation post in the northern Gaza
strip. The troops have been engaged in that part of the northern Gaza
Strip since yesterday, September 29. (September 30 Current Events in
Wikipedia)

1. It downplays the killing of the Israeli soldier
2. It does not clarify whether the "Palestinians" who were killed, were
armed (although "returned fire" implies this)
3. It seems designed to give the impression that Israel is conducting a
campaign of indiscriminate slaughter.

If some advocate believes that Israel is killing "Palestinians" without
concern for international law or moral considerations, we should include
a comment attributed to that source, like:

* "This is another example of Israel's indiscriminate slaughter of
freedom-loving Palestinians. Those hypocrites say they love democracy,
but they don't even respect elementary human rights," said Mustapha al
Fahda, leader of the [[Alliance for Palestinian Democracy]].

I think the best way to describe armed violence is to mention who fired
the first shot, like this:

* An Israeli soldier is killed at an observation post in the northern
Gaza strip. Israeli troops returned fire, killing two Palestinians.

Please think carefully about the impression your writing makes, and try
hard to avoid letting bias creep in. 

Ed Poor