Trying to Correct a Misconception of Media Bias

Al Jazeera English just pulled the following report from their wire sources:

A Jewish-American, who settled in the occupied West Bank, has been charged with killing two Palestinians and attempting to murder more people.

Jack Teitel told reporters at a Jerusalem court on Thursday that he had no regrets for shooting the pair and trying to kill the others with explosives and poison, and that God would approve of his actions.

"It has been a pleasure and an honor to have served my God," Teitel, an ultra-Orthodox Jew originally from Florida in the US, said.

Teitel has a total of 14 charges against him including two for murder and three for attempted murder.

He has also been charged with illegal possession of explosives and weapons and incitement to racism.

The indictment said that Teitel, 37, was trying to avenge the deaths of Israelis killed by Palestinian fighters.

It added that he began his assault by killing a Palestinian taxi driver in 1997. He also attacked a dovish Israeli professor and messianic Jews who venerate Jesus.

No date has yet been set for the beginning of the trial.

Teitel faces up to life in prison if convicted.

I reproduce this story to refute the discriminatory practices of many media sources that seem to assume that "Muslim" is the only modifier for the noun phrase "extremist terrorist." Al Jazeera is to be credited for trying to right this imbalance, as well as for recognizing that this is being treated as a criminal act to be handled by the Israeli justice system. I shall be curious to see which American media decide to treat this as newsworthy (particularly since the BBC NEWS Web site gave en even more detailed account than did Al Jazeera)!