UPDATE: The Newseum is “re-evaluating“.
The Newseum is a museum in Washington that covers, well, the news business. Journalism, both print and television, is its focus. I’ve been mildly interested in visting it. They advertise heavily on WTOP in the DC area, and they run some interesting exhibits.
Not anymore, because the Newseum is honoring two Hamas terrorists as “journalists” who were killed while covering the news. This, in spite of the fact that there is evidence that the two “journalists” killed were actively supporting Hamas. This, in spite of the fact that the TV station they were working for has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. So why are they stubbornly going through with their decision to add two terrorists to a permanent memorial honoring journalists killed while covering the news? Because the Hamasniks had the words “TV” marked on a neaby car.
The Newseum Journalists Memorial recognizes 2,246 journalists who died or were killed while reporting the news. To be listed on the memorial, an individual must have been a contributor of news, commentary or photography to a news outlet; an editor or news executive; a producer, camera operator, sound engineer or other member of a broadcast crew; or a documentary filmmaker.
Hussam Salama and Mahmoud Al-Kumi were cameramen in a car clearly marked “TV.” 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 duty.
The Journalists Memorial selection committee conducts case-by-case reviews using the above criteria.
Here’s how Hamas uses the shield of journalism as a cover for its terrorists.
Faced with serious accusations of Al-Aqsa TV’s connections to terrorism, the head of the network, Mohammad Thouraya, denied that Al-Aqsa was the voice of Hamas — a hard fact to deny, since the channel is financed and controlled by Hamas — but he did admit that his employees were “all part of the resistance.”
Being “part of the resistance”, in other words, could mean that those carrying a camera during the day could be carrying rockets at night.
The Newseum is blind to anything but the fact that the cameramen were camerman for a TV station. Terrorist propagandists? Doesn’t matter. Active members of Hamas? Doesn’t count. All that matters it they were cameramen who were killed in a war. That they were actively taking part in that war does not seem to be entering the picture.
It is despicable that these terrorists’ names are going up on a wall that includes Daniel Pearl, who was a legitimate journalist killed by terrorists.
Just as a reminder, Palestinian terrorists also use ambulances as cover for their terrorists.
What the Newseum is doing is giving Hamas carte blanche to paint “TV” on vehicles carrying terrorists. Put a camera at the scene of a bombing, and you have another accusation of Israeli “war crimes” in the media, aided and abetted by the tools who run the Newseum.