The Newseum has rescinded its decision to honor slain cameramen employed by a Hamas affiliate.
The Washington-based Newseum, run by the Freedom Forum, a foundation promoting a free press, annually honors journalists killed in the line of duty.
This year’s ceremony on May 13 was to have included Mahmoud al-Kumi and Hussam Salama, cameramen killed in November by an Israeli strike during Israel’s war that month against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The cameramen were employed by Al Aqsa TV, an arm of Hamas, a group designated by the U.S. State Department as terrorist.
“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.
A number of pro-Israel groups, including CAMERA, the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee, had called on the Newseum to rescind the honor. — jta & ynetnews.com