Where’s the Coverage? Israel Prevented ‘Several Dozen’ Terror Attacks in Europe

The nation of Israel prevented ‘mass’ terror attacks on the continent of Europe, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Jan. 9, 2018. This admission—made at a meeting of Israel-based Ambassadors to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)—was widely ignored by major U.S. news outlets.

According to The Times of Israel, Netanyahu told the foreign diplomats:

“We have, through our intelligence services, provided information that has stopped several dozen major terrorist attacks, many of them in European countries. Some of these could have been mass attacks, of the worst kind that you have experienced on the soil of Europe and even worse, because they involve civil aviation. Israel has prevented that, and thereby helped save many European lives (“Netanyahu hints Israel has stopped hijacked planes crashing into European cities,” Jan. 9, 2018).”

The Israeli leader declined to provide specific examples, but noted that the Jewish state has contributed to the safety of Europe, both by preventing attacks in European cities and by thwarting attempts by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria to set up a base in Egypt. He also highlighted Israel’s efforts to pushback against Iranian attempts to establish a “military base in Syria,” noting that battles between the Shi’ite theocracy and Sunni Muslims would result in a “spillover” of refugees fleeing to Europe.

Times of Israel correspondent Raphael Aren pointed out that “Israel and NATO have cooperated on security matters for decades but recently upgraded their ties significantly,” with Jerusalem opening its first office in NATO headquarters in 2017.

Israel’s prime minister telling foreign diplomats that his nation prevented ‘mass’ terror attacks on European cities is newsworthy. Yet, most U.S. and U.K. news outlets failed to cover it. The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, USA Today, and others didn’t provide readers with any original reporting on Netanyahu’s comments.

By contrast, The Times of Israel, The Jerusalem Post (“Benjamin Netanyahu: Israel thwarted ‘major’ terror attacks in Europe involving planes”), The Telegraph (“Netanyahu:Israel helped stop terror attacks on plans in Europe”), and Business Insider( “Israel claims it has prevented ‘several dozen major terrorist attacks”) all highlighted the prime minister’s remarks.

Instead of reporting on Israel foiling “several dozen major terrorist attacks” on European cities, The Washington Post chose to attack Israel’s leader. The Post’s World Views columnist Ishaan Tharoor offered a skewed Jan. 10, 2018 “analysis,” entitled “Trump and Netanyahu are playing the same game.” That report claimed that the Israeli prime minister and the U.S. president have “echoed each others illiberal agendas.”

Tharoor asserted: “In a year when much of the international community has held Trump at arm’s length, Netanyahu went in for a full embrace.” Yet, much of the “international community,” including the European Union (EU), and its leading member states of Germany, France, the United Kingdom, among others, have failed to fully condemn Iran’s violent repression of its citizens, who, since late-December 2017, have been protesting in the streets. Tharoor omitted this fact, instead he argued that by “celebrating their nationalism and defiance” of political opponents, Netanayahu and Trump were promoting “illiberal” agendas.

Those who promote the illiberal agendas of Islamic terrorism—such as the Islamic Republic of Iran and ISIS—were not mentioned in The Post’s analysis.