FlyDubai Captain Smit Machchhar was fighting for his life mid-air. He had just been stabbed by his co-pilot, who is now believed to be a jihadist. But he needed to let brave Israeli passengers into the cockpit to subdue the terrorist and stop the plane’s nosedive. Mustering his last bits of strength, he managed to open the door.
“In his darkest moments, he repeated Hindu religious chants and clung to his faith, believing ‘God would save us,’” CBS reports.
Machchhar shared the details with Prime Minister Narendra Modi by video from a hospital bed. He and the Israelis are heroes.
This story has forced parts of the mainstream media to take a millisecond break from daily blood libels against Israelis. But even the coverage itself is hiding crucial context: Many Indian Hindus are acutely aware of the dangers of Islamist terrorism. They know to be on guard against it.
India has been under siege from it in recent years. You wouldn’t know that from the media.
As I reported here, there were back-to-back terror attacks in India and Pakistan one day apart. CNN ran a story with the headline, “Here’s what we know.” It also ran an “analysis” piece more than 1,000 words long. Neither story mentioned that Islamist terrorist groups claimed responsibility.
CNN wasn’t alone. Other mainstream media did the same. For more on this, listen to Episode 83 (which also addressed a domestic issue — hence the episode title).
The latest Global Terrorism Index shows India just three notches below Israel in facing terror threats. And Israel is only down to 10 because of its successful battles against Islamist terror groups and their chief sponsor, Iran.
The West, meanwhile, is facing greater danger. Killings by terrorism in the West nearly quadrupled last year, and the United States saw its highest level since 2019.
When the media refuses to acknowledge the truth, people become unprepared.