NPR Public Editor Criticizes Coverage of Michigan Synagogue Attack for Lacking Victim Voices

The attacker’s brother was reportedly a Hezbollah commander.

By Shula Rosen

NPR’s public editor, Kelly McBride, said the network’s coverage of a March attack on a Michigan synagogue failed to include voices from the targeted Jewish community, acknowledging gaps after criticism over a report that focused on the attacker’s background abroad.

The March 14 “All Things Considered” segment examined the Lebanon hometown of Ayman Ghazali, 41, who days earlier rammed his truck into a Jewish preschool at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township.

The FBI later confirmed Ghazali was inspired by the Iran-backed group Hezbollah. He died after engaging in a firefight with a security guard.

The segment, headlined “In a small Lebanese town, grief and fear follow the Michigan synagogue attack,” drew criticism from listeners who said it emphasized the attacker’s environment rather than the victims.

Some also pointed to reporting that Ghazali’s brother was a Hezbollah commander.

McBride defended the editorial intent, writing, “The journalistic purpose of the story was to explore the connection between the terror attack on the Michigan synagogue and the family that was killed on the other side of the world.”

She added, “Simply documenting that relationship and humanizing the family does not imply that Ghazali’s attempt to kill more than a hundred children was justified.”

At the same time, McBride said NPR’s broader coverage did not sufficiently reflect the experiences of those directly affected. “In all of that coverage, voices from Temple Israel are absent. I couldn’t find any stories that quote rabbis, congregation members or the families of the children who had to flee the building.”

She noted that other outlets did include interviews with members of the congregation and said NPR’s coverage shifted away from the synagogue too quickly. “NPR or Michigan Public Radio pulled away from the story at Temple Israel too soon,” she wrote.

McBride said the omission had consequences for how the story was understood. “When important voices are missing from coverage, it distorts the audience’s perception of everything else.”