The Newseum in Washington, DC describes its mission as “educating the public about the value of a free press in a free society.” Yet a handful of protestors today accused the Newseum of abandoning its principles and succumbing to political pressure.
The protestors, including Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) at George Mason University, object to the Newseum’s recent decision to overlook two Palestinians in an annual memorial to fallen journalists.
Palestinians Mahmoud Al-Kumi and Hussam Salama were killed last November during Israel’s assault on Gaza. The Newseum at first intended to honor them along with 82 other journalists killed this year while reporting. Then they reversed their decision.
“Serious questions have been raised as to whether two of the individuals included on our initial list of journalists who died covering the news this past year were truly journalists or whether they were engaged in terrorist activities,” the Newseum said in a statement.
But members of SAIA allege that pro-Israel organizations like the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee have “bullied” the Newseum into doubting whether al-Kumi and Salama were actually journalists.
Hala Numan of SAIA says that they were “linked” to Hamas and consequently “labelled” as terrorists. The so-called link, she says, is Al-Aqsa, the government-run news agency they worked for.
While Hamas holds the majority of seats in the Palestinian Parliament, it is also regarded as a terrorist organization by the U.S. Numan equates Al-Aqsa to Voice of America.
It’s important to recognize Al-Kumi and Salama, she says, because doing so “fundamentally honor[s] freedom of the press and the role reporters play in it.”
SAIA hopes to set up a meeting with Jonathan Thompson, Manager of Media Relations at the Newseum, to deliver petition signatures asking that it restore Al-Kumi and Salama to the list of honored journalists.
