What is a terrorist?

I had a good friend over on Sunday and we talked about both the Lindt office and Parramatta killings.

I was asked whether they were terrorist acts.

I said no.  Why?

A terrorist act involves many murders which invokes terror on  the population. this in turn invokes a behavioural change .

Let me illustrate with an example.

Way back in the late 1940s. Jewish terrorist groups such a Irgun and the Stern gang et all massacred Palestinians in Palestine.
It was done on such a scale and with such violence that tens of thousands of Palestinians simply left their homes and possessions fearing for their very lives.  ( Hamas could only dream on doing such things).

Now let us think of the Lindt and Parramatta killings. Did they invoke terror at all? Did they invoke any behavioural change at all?

They were not terrorist attacks simply murders by deranged people.