Apologists for Palestinian terrorism often claim that Zionists are terrorists too–citing acts such as the July 22, 1946 bombing of the King David Hotel by Menachem Begin. James Taranto comments:
Now, it’s probably fair to characterize the attack on the King David Hotel as terrorism. But the question is at least somewhat murky. The Irgun, the group that carried out the bombing, selected the hotel as a military target, since it was the headquarters of the British military command. And, as the Jewish Virtual Library points out:
Irgun leader Menachem Begin stressed his desire to avoid civilian casualties and said three telephone calls were placed, one to the hotel, another to the French Consulate, and a third to the Palestine Post, warning that explosives in the King David Hotel would soon be detonated.
On July 22, 1946, the calls were made. The call into the hotel was apparently received and ignored. Begin quotes one British official who supposedly refused to evacuate the building, saying: “We don’t take orders from the Jews.” As a result, when the bombs exploded, the casualty toll was high: a total of 91 killed and 45 injured. Among the casualties were 15 Jews. Few people in the hotel proper were injured by the blast.
In contrast to Arab attacks against Jews, which were widely hailed as heroic actions, the Jewish National Council denounced the bombing of the King David.
Taranto continues:
If the attack on the King David was terrorism, surely Palestinian Arab massacres of bus passengers or disco revelers–whose purpose is to murder civlians–qualify for the term.