Israel Radio’s Reshet Bet channel tweeted an apology for an “error” that was committed during the 7 AM news, when news announcer Kobi Barkai used the word “terrorist” when referring to the IDF soldier who shot an Arab terrorist who was lying on the ground. The station said the reason was “human error which was corrected.”
This has become a trend in some Israeli media outlets, some of which are state-funded. Channel 2 News referred to the Arab on the ground as “helpless terrorist,” while Channel 10 News referred to the shooting soldier’s mother as “the terrorist’s mother.”
The Israel Radio “terrorist” reference during the 7 AM news reportedly came after the same “error” during the 6:30 AM news updates. Reshet Bet is Israel’s most popular radio station for news, especially during drive time.
The apology from state-funded Israel Radio only appeared on Tweeter. The correction amounted to the 8 AM reader not calling the soldier “terrorist.”
It should be noted that Israelis are addicted to the hour and half hour news broadcasts of Israel Radio, which are considered the most reliable, and are normally carried by all of Kol Israel’s radio channels on the hour. At times of great national stress, life in Israel sometimes comes to a halt for the news broadcast, which is why the text to be read is probably the most meticulously edited of all the content that’s put out by the station.
Kobi Barkai is a veteran of many decades in Kol Israel, and served as Director of the Israel Radio announcers department. He of all people knows the difference between an intentional and an unintentional nasty jab at political enemies.