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A museum of journalism located in Washington, D.C., plans honor two fallen Hamas terrorists that used to work for Al Aqsa TV.
Newseum, a museum of journalism based in Washington, DC, has decided to honor two Hamas terrorists at this years annual tribute to journalists who died while covering the news. Mahmoud Al Kumi and Hussam Salama, who were killed in an Israeli airstrike during Operation Pillar of Defense, are set to be recognized as fallen journalists. They were employed at Al Aqsa TV, a media outlet run by Hamas which is designated as a terrorist organization by the US Treasury Department. A 2010 report from the US Treasury Department claims that Al Aqsa TV is “financed and controlled by Hamas,” and “airs programs and music videos designed to recruit children to become Hamas armed fighters and suicide bombers upon reaching adulthood.”
The Middle East Media Research Institute, otherwise known as MEMRI, reports, “On March 18, 2010, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions against two Hamas-linked organizations in Gaza – Al-Aqsa TV and the Islamic National Bank (INB). The actions, taken pursuant to Executive Order 13224, freeze any assets that Al-Aqsa TV or INB hold under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibit U.S. persons from engaging in any transactions with them. The targets of the sanctions include terrorists and terrorist organizations, among others.”
According to the Anti-Defemation League, Al Aqsa TV is modeled after Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV in Lebanon and “promotes terrorist activity and incites hatred of Jews and Israelis.” For example, one Al Aqsa TV segment featuring a US-based Iraqi cleric named Qays Bin Khalil al-Khalbi proclaimed regarding the Jewish people, “Allah chose you to be the most wretched of all peoples. Allah transformed you into apes and pigs. You were chosen as the best to become apes and pigs. In addition, you are the slayers of prophets. No other nation on the face of the Earth has killed its own prophets like you. Third, you spread your corruption throughout the land all the time.”
Additionally, counter-terrorism specialist Jonathan Schanzer provided concrete evidence that both Al Kumi and Salama were Hamas terrorists and not just journalists, since the Hamas website declared both men to be martyrs, and Salama is identified also in one post as a mujahid fighter and jihadi fighter. Regardless of these facts, Newseum has defended their decision. “Hussam Salama and Mahmoud al-Kumi were cameramen in a car clearly marked TV,” Newseum spokesman Scott Williams reported. “The Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters without Borders, and the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers all consider these men journalists killed in the line of duty.” However, the IDF doesn’t usually target vehicles marked TV unless the journalists were also involved with terrorism. The US is also not the only country not to consider Al Aqsa TV a legitimate news organization, for the French government thinks likewise on this issue.
Since 1997, Newseum has recognized 2.246 journalists who fell while covering the news, including the famous Jewish American reporter, Daniel Pearl, who was murdered by Islamists in Pakistan. It is considered a way of honoring those who sacrificed their lives in order to cover the news. The names of the honored journalists are engraved on a special plaque at the museum. Unfortunately, the two Hamas terrorists are not the only fallen journalists who have known connections to terrorism to be honored by this particular museum. Newseum is also slated to honor Basil Tawfiq Youssef of Syrian State Television and Maya Naser from Iran’s Press TV. Both media outlets support brutal dictatorships that repress their own people.
Please contact Newseum to complain!
Contact: James Duff
E-mail: jduff@newseum.org
Dear Mr. James Duff,
As a concerned citizen, I am outraged to learn that two Hamas terrorists that used to work for Al Aqsa TV, Mahmoud Al Kumi and Hussam Salama, have been honored by Newseum as journalists who have fallen while covering the news. The US and French government do not consider Al Aqsa TV to be a legitimate news organization. Indeed, Al Aqsa TV is nothing more than the propaganda wing of the Hamas terror organization, who routinely praises violence against Israeli civilians and calls for suicide bombings. Furthermore, counter-terrorism expert Jonathan Schanzer provided concrete evidence that both Al Kumi and Salama were Hamas terrorists and not just journalists, since the Hamas website declared both men to be martyr, and Salama is identified also in one post as a mujahid fighter and jihadi fighter. Given all of this, I urge you not to honor terrorists beside the names of great heroes such as Daniel Pearl.
Sincerely,
Your Name
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