Above: Scene of Madrid attack, 3/11/04 Below: Scene of Ashdod attack, 3/14/04

For over three years, in continual alerts and through TerrorPetition.com, HonestReporting has led the campaign to insist that news outlets call Palestinian terror "terror." (See our extensive webpage devoted to this issue.) Now, as the scourge of Islamic terrorism continues to spread throughout the globe, it is more important than ever that Israel's struggle against terrorism be properly identified as part of the larger battle to preserve civil, democratic society against militant Islam.

The past week saw the horrific bombing of commuter trains in Madrid, and the Palestinian terror attack at the Israeli seaport at Ashdod. While the bombings in Madrid were of greater magnitude in terms of human loss, in essence the two were very similar terror attacks ― targeting sensitive areas of national infrastructure with the goal of destroying the opposing society.

This time, while some news agencies continued to show a double standard vis-a-vis Israel, we're pleased to report that others are beginning to heed HonestReporting's insistent call to refer to Palestinian terror as "terror." Here's a review, starting with the duplicitous offenders:

 

News Agency	Coverage of Madrid bombings	Coverage of Ashdod bombings
Associated Press	Headlined 'Terror Blasts Kill at Least 198 in Spain'	Headlined 'Eight Die in Israeli Port Suicide Attack'
Washington Post	"Millions of Spaniards united... to denounce the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 200 people in the capital a day earlier." (link)	"Two Palestinian suicide bombers blew themselves up at one of Israel's largest industrial seaports late Sunday afternoon..." (link)
BBC	Interviewed politicians regarding the "Madrid terror attack" (link)	Reported "the suicide blasts in the southern Israeli port of Ashdod."
Agence France-Presse (AFP)	"..investigators probed a claim that the Al-Qaeda network was behind the deadliest terror attacks in Spain's history." (link)	"Two explosions in ... Ashdod were carried out in a joint operation by the hardline Palestinian groups Hamas and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades" (link)
LA Times	"The body bags outside Madrid's Atocha train station and the commuters sitting stunned on the tracks were graphic reminders of terrorism's evil." (link)	"Two Palestinian militant organizations, Hamas and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, claimed joint responsibility for the attack" (link)

Meanwhile, the New York Times, CNN, The Christian Science Monitor and even London's The Guardian are to be commended for breaking from past policies and calling both attacks "terrorism":
 

News Agency	Coverage of Madrid bombings	Coverage of Ashdod bombings
New York Times	"when terrorists blew up commuter trains packed with run-of-the-mill people...suddenly the equation changed." (link)	" If the terrorists did come from Gaza, south of here, it would be the first time in more than three years of conflict ..." (link)
CNN	"One of the five men identified Sunday as suspects in last week's terrorist attacks in Madrid..." (link)	"Hamas and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades...claimed joint responsibility for the terror attacks" (link)
Christian Science Monitor	"Terrorist Bombings Jolt Spain"  (link)	"It was not the first time terrorism exerted its veto power over attempts to lure Israelis and Palestinians back to discussions" (link)
The Guardian	"...the terrorists behind the March 11 attack have ties to a radical Islamist group..." (link)	"It was also the first time that militants from Gaza have staged a terrorist attack" (link)

[And of course, the "news" agency Reuters held by their absurd editorial standard to refer to no attack as "terrorism" ― they called the Spanish bombs a "guerilla attack."]

We reiterate that this is not merely an academic, semantic issue. As the West unites against barbaric Islamic terrorism that now also haunts continental Europe, it is essential that Israel's struggle against Palestinian terror be properly identified as part of the larger battle. When news outlets differentiate between a port attack in Israel and a train attack in Madrid, they expose an editorial decision that the Palestinian attack is somehow more justified. That's wrong, dangerous, and far from "neutral reporting."

It is encouraging indeed that four major news outlets have responded to the hundreds of emails sent by HonestReporting subscribers, and have finally begun calling Palestinian terror "terror." Now is the time to write to the other news agencies above, encouraging them to join their colleagues in rectifying this longstanding anti-Israel double standard.