Article: Defiant, Israel defends raid

This article, subtitled "Activists offer reports on deadly flotilla takeover," was written by Edmund Sanders and published June 2, 2010. It was published along with a photo of demonstrators waving Palestinian flags in front of the home of the Israeli ambassador in Turkey. It is a shortened version of a longer article available on the Courant's website at http://www.courant.com/news/breaking/la-fg-israel-aftermath-20100602,0,6669896,full.story.


Opinion: The headline itself including the opinion that Israel was "defiant," an opinion which was also given in the first sentence.

Inaccuracy: The writer inaccurately referred to "a humanitarian flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip." Even one of the organizers admitted it was not a humanitarian mission.

Opinion: The writer referred to "Israel's hard-line response."

Opinion. Misleading: The writer opined "The initial firsthand versions had come almost exclusively from the Israeli government." This is misleading because, regardless of where the initial firsthand versions originated, the overwhelming majority of reported versions came from anti-Israel propagandists.

Misleading. Unverified or Unsubstantiated Statements: The article included the statement: "the captain of one of the other ships in the flotilla, Huseyin Tokalak, said Israeli ships opened fire on the Mavi Marmara before boarding that ship, according to Reuters." While this may be an accurate report of what Reuters said that captain said, there was no firing from the Israelis until after the mercenaries on the Mavi Marmara had attacked the Israeli commandos.

Opinion. Misleading: "The Gaza relief flotilla embarked from Turkey." It was not a relief flotilla.

Lack of Balance. Absence of Rebuttal: "Turkey's foreign minister &ellips; compared the Israeli raid to the Sept. 11 attacks." This absurd statement wasn't balanced.

Ratings

Factual Accuracy: 7
Bias-Free: 5
Pro-Israel: 0
Anti-Israel: 7