ABC changes articles after accusation of anti-Israel bias

The ABC has corrected two articles about Israel after complaints of bias from the Australian Jewish Association.

One article was rewritten after it described a convicted terrorist who threw a grenade at civilians as an “ex-Palestinian freedom fighter”.

Another story published on May 27 under the headline: “Three Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank, ministry says” had an “editor’s note” attached.

The note advised readers that “the three dead Palestinians were later identified as members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade militant group”.

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AJA president David Adler accused the ABC of having “a long and disgraceful history of extreme anti-Israel bias”.

He pointed to “a particularly disturbing pattern in the ABC’s reporting, namely to hide the jihadist terrorism when referring to certain Arab Palestinians involved in violence”.

The May 27 article was corrected after the ABC ombudsman’s office found: “The program has explained the story was correct at the time that it was published but it should have been updated when extra details came in.”

The article that used the term “freedom fighter” to describe a convicted terrorist, published on May 22, had the term removed after feedback from the ombudsman.

Adler said the articles conveyed “a misleading impression to the Australian public and creates a negative perspective of Israel”.