On July 9, Middle East correspondent Allan Sorensen tweeted this horrible scene that instantly went insanely viral.
Sderot cinema. Israelis bringing chairs 2 hilltop in sderot 2 watch latest from Gaza. Clapping when blasts are heard. pic.twitter.com/WYZquV62O7
— Allan Sørensen (@allansorensen72) July 9, 2014
Yes, you are watching the residents of Sderot who have suffered 9 years of rocket attacks at the hands of Hamas, simply because of their proximity to Gaza, sit on a hill and watch the activity going on next door.
#SderotCinema went wild on Twitter. People expressing shock and disgust at these people who have the audacity to express joy that the very rocket launchers that have tormented them and forced them to live in bomb shelters for years are being eliminated by the Israeli Air Force. This is the Israel-hater’s tried and tested strategy to use the victims of terror, spin it on its head and use it against Israel. Because according to the Israel hater, it’s not rocket launchers and terror facilities the IDF is eliminating, it’s Palestinian babies. So it didn’t take long before Twitter was afire with “Residents of Sderot applaud the murder of Palestinian babies”. This is when journalism becomes irresponsible.
Moments ago Sorensen was interviewed by Channel 2 News in Israel regarding this picture and was asked why he isn’t being impartial in the reporting of this war as a journalist should do. He denies applying any favoritism towards the Palestinians.
So I went over to his twitter feed to see what’s going on and found a perfect example of the power of wording.
Sorensen posted the following 2 tweets. One after the other. They both basically say the same thing. Except notice the difference in the wording. Take note which one got more retweets.