‘Not Yet’; ABC, NBC Downplay ‘Extremist’ Motive in Anti-Semitic Terror Attack

In covering this weekend’s deadly anti-Semitic terror attack in Australia, ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s Today engaged in a throwback of sorts on Monday to past terror attacks in Europe by refusing to refer to the attack as having been committed by two Islamists who may have been followers of the Islamic State (ISIS). Instead, they insisted the attack was “targeted…terrorism” by two men “motivated by extremist ideology” though authorities “have not yet revealed a motive.”

Starting with ABC’s Good Morning America, co-host Robin Roberts teased coverage of “[t]error on the first night of Hanukkah” with 15 dead in an attack by “two shooters…targeting the Jewish community[.]”

Atlanta-based correspondent Faith Abubey was sent to cover this one and ensure radical Islam was nowhere to be found on the airwaves.

She started by saying there’s “[h]orror and heartbreak here in Australia” following “the worst mass shooting in the country in nearly 30 years and…a targeted act of terrorism on the Jewish community” and only partway through did she vaguely mention the perpetrators were “a 50-year-old father and 24-year-old son.”

The last 30 seconds was the only mention of motive, which she insisted was still unknown as per Australian law enforcement:

If only there’s a particular ideology that explicitly states its goal is to eradicate Jews and filled with widespread Holocaust denial.

The second-half hour yielded a Sydney-adjacent story with chief investigative correspondent Aaron Katersky also declining to speculate on the kinds of people who were why security was being beefed up around New York City Hanukkah celebrations:

NBC’s Today wasn’t any better. Down in Sydney, former correspondent Sara James — who lives in Australia and serves as the head of the Fulbright scholarships there — started her report with this remarkably bad open:

James ended by touting Australia’s desire to enact more gun control as a response with only “a prominent Jewish leader” instead emphasizing the need for more protection of Jews:

CBS Mornings, in contrast, provided both extensive coverage (nine minutes and 35 seconds) but also moral clarity.

Hong Kong-based correspondent Anna Coren made the trip south and, in her first report, she emphasized the bravery of bystander Ahmed al-Ahmed fighting back against one of the gunmen and stealing his gun.

Her other point was the motive as Coren correctly laid bare the Jewish community’s belief an incident such as their was inevitable given the state of Albanese’s government:

In the second half-hour, the co-hosts interviewed survivors Wayne and Vanessa Miller, who were briefly separated from their three-year-old daughter during the melee.

Co-host Tony Dokoupil asked them about the fact that Vanessa reportedly wondered as they were arriving at Bondi Beach if such a public celebration of Hanukkah was safe and especially because, as Vanessa told Dokoupil, “there were only two policemen there” for an event that drew hundreds.

Dokoupil pulled on that string: “I think Jews in many communities around the world understand exactly what you mean for that question, but for people outside the community, why does that kind of concern come to mind?”

The Miller’s unloaded on Albanese and the Australian government:

Dokoupil had the lead-in for a Coren report in the second hour, stating the simple fact that the gunmen “picked this site deliberately because they were targeting Jews.”

Coren rehashed her piece from the first hour, reiterating the al-Ahmed’s bravery as “an act of heroism that undoubted[ly] saved lives” and the disgust from Australia’s Jewish community at their own government for playing footsie with anti-Semitism.

To see the relevant transcripts from December 15, click here (for ABC), here (for CBS), and here (for NBC).