Massaging the facts

As noted by Ozfan on an earlier thread, this morning's Broadcasting House included a report from Kevin Connolly on the 2014 terrorist attack on the Jewish Museum in Brussels. 

It also included reflections on antisemitism in Europe. 

One remarkable thing about the report was that it failed, at any point, to mention that the "lone gunman"/"lone attacker" was an Islamist terrorist. 

Another even more remarkable thing was that Muslim antisemitism - the root cause of the attack - was not mentioned either.

Instead, Kevin Connolly's report concentrated on antisemitism in general, and Western European antisemitism  in particular (Nazi-occupied France especially) - even though that kind of antisemitism had nothing to do with this Brussels attack. 

The takeaway message, incidentally, was the one quoted at the very start of the programme - It's not only Jews that need to be worried. Muslims and Christians too are hiding from terror in Europe today:

Today, not only the Jew are afraid. Everybody is afraid. Terrorism can attack everybody, and today we have to help everybody to protect our society.

Incidentally, this isn't the first time that Kevin Connolly has airbrushed Islamism and Muslim antisemitism out of his coverage of the terrorist attack on the Jewish Museum. A World Service programme late last year, hosted by James Harding, followed much the same construction.

The massaging of the facts here remains absolutely extraordinary.