Guest contribution by Deanna Othman
As Palestinians prepare to mark the 65th anniversary of al-Nakba on May 15, the date that symbolizes the beginning of the methodical dispossession and oppression of Palestinians, they have been greeted with a slap in the face by Washington, DC’s Newseum in another attempt to delegitimize and stifle their struggle.
The Newseum, which features exhibits both on news history and contemporary media technology, announced the names of 82 journalists who died covering the news in 2012, and added them to the Newseum’s Journalists Memorial in a ceremony held May 13 in the Journalists Memorial Gallery. Among the honored were Marie Colvin and Anthony Shadid, who both died in Syria.
Absent from the list of 82 journalists were an additional two names originally slated to be included — Hussam Salama and Mahmoud Al-Kumi, who were doing camera work for Al-Aqsa TV when they were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza in November 2012.
The Newseum announced Monday that the museum will “re-evaluate their inclusion as journalists on our memorial wall pending further investigation.”
Although many held out the hope that the Newseum would stand by its decision, it is a grave disappointment, but not a complete surprise, that yet another institution that purports to celebrate diversity of voices has caved under Zionist pressure. [Read more...]
Irony and dilemma concerning Newseum’s decision to reverse plan to commemorate slain Palestinian journalists
The Newseum, a Washington, DC news museum, announced plans last week to memorialize 84 journalists killed in the line of duty in 2012. Included among the list of honored journalists were Mahmoud Al-Kumi and Hussam Salama who worked for Al-Aqsa TV when an Israeli air strike on November 20, 2012, killed them and at least four others. Al-Kumi and Salama were covering the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip when a missile hit their vehicle.
Al-Aqsa TV is the state television network for the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip.
The Newseum’s announcement drew harsh criticism from conservative and pro-Israel groups including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) which issued a nasty statement belittling the lives of these journalists by calling their employer “not a legitimate news organization”.
On Monday, the Newseum unveiled the memorial. Instead of 84 names, it included only 82. The Newseum caved to the pressure and Al-Kumi and Salama’s names had been removed.
In a shoddy attempt at balanced news coverage of the Newseum controversy, a concept seemingly unfamiliar to Fox News, Fox decided to make its own judgment call by labeling the two Palestinian journalists as “operatives” working for Hamas. Ironically, the article headline begins with the question, “Terrorists or journalists?” as if Fox was actually going to approach the issue appropriately, tactfully, accurately, and intelligently. [Read more...]