Pro-Nazi and fan of Hitlet, Shatha Hammad has recently received a prestigious prize. Writes Suraiyya Azia.
Recipient of prestigious journalism award and cash prize by the Kurt Schork Memorial Fund (KSMF), which is supported by the charitable arm of global wire service Reuters, Shatha Hammad has applauded Adolf Hitler and his Nazi butchers and lavished praise on Palestinian terrorists who have murdered innocent Jews, and denied that Israel has any right to exist.
Announcing Ramallah-based Hammad as the winner of its 2022 Local Reporter Award on October 13, the KSMF lavished praise on her work reporting from the West Bank. “Taking great personal risks, which once resulted in her being hit in the face with a teargas canister, Hammad’s stories expose the impact of the conflict on Palestinian civilians”, the press release gushed.
In addition to receiving US$5,000, Hammad’s work will also be “spotlighted through a multi-media campaign on the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s social media channels” and she will have the coveted opportunity to take part in a discussion hosted by CNN pundit Christiane Amanpour at the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s annual Trust Conference in London later this month.
HonestReporting has uncovered dozens of violent and antisemitic posts on Hammad’s Facebook page, including one in which she eulogized the “martyrs” who killed five “settlers” during the 2014 Jerusalem synagogue massacre in which two Palestinian terrorists attacked worshipers with axes, knives and a gun.
In several posts in 2014, Hammad, who currently works for Middle East Eye and Al Jazeera, signed off her comments using the nickname “Hitler” and joked that she was “in agreement” with the Nazi leader who oversaw the mass extermination of six million Jews during the Holocaust.
In another post — originally written in Arabic but translated into English by HonestReporting — she described herself as “friends” and “one” with Hitler, adding they have the “same mentality, like, for example, the extermination of the Jews” alongside a smiley face emoji.
In a 2016 Facebook comment, Hammad suggested Israel is not a legitimate country and questioned whether Jews have the right to self-determination.
Sadly, she is the latest in a series of Palestinian journalists whose virulently antisemitic views HonestReporting has exposed during the course of our investigative work.
On August 11, Honest Reporting puts a spotlight on the horrifying social media history of Fady Hanona, a freelance producer and fixer who was credited by The New York Times in multiple stories published during the September conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Hanona had described Jews as the “sons of dogs” and called for killing every “Jew, Israeli or Zionist, or anyone else who speaks Hebrew”.
In response to Honest Reporting work, The New York Times, VICE News, the BBC, The Guardian, SBS Australia, and ABC News Australia all moved to cut ties with Hanona.
In September 2022, Honest Reporting also revealed how two other freelancers working for the NYT, Soliman Hijjy and Hosam Salem, had also lauded Hitler and Palestinian terrorism in multiple chilling Facebook posts.
Last year, Honest Reporting’s revelations about reporter Tala Halawa, who had tweeted that “Hitler was right,” forced the BBC to cut ties with the journalist.
HonestReporting has reached out to both the Thomson Reuters Foundation and the Kurt Schork Memorial Fund to ask whether any action will be taken to distance themselves from Hammad given the violent and antisemitic nature of online outbursts.
Unfortunately, antisemitism is on the rise globally. Every day, we see ugly incidents and expressions of anti-Jewish hatred playing out on the streets, campuses, workplaces and online. This type of language incites more violence against Jews globally and does nothing to advance the cause of peace locally.
But the fact about those who defend Israel, confront Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism and condemn Palestinian terrorist actions would be truly miserable. It seems if someone wants to become world-famous and receive prestigious prize like Shatha Hammad, s/he needs to vigorously push forward anti-Israel agenda, deny existence of the Jewish State, mock Holocaust and continue anti-Semite activities. That is the only way for anyone to be in the limelight of global media. If someone shows stupidity as Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, the editor of BLiTZ, the only anti-militancy and anti-political Islam newspaper in the Muslim world, they will not only be ignored, forgotten, and abandoned by Jews and the Jewish organizations, s/he will surely face cruel demonization. For those who have never heard the name of Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, here is a little bit of information of this man.
Commenting on Mr. Choudhury, The New York Times in its editorial said: “Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, a Muslim editor and commentator in Bangladesh, has a rare virtue — he champions dialogue and decency in a culture hemmed in by extremism and corruption”. A version of this article appears in print on December 14, 2003, Section 4, Page 10 of the National edition with the headline: The Risks of Journalism in Bangladesh.
Nobel Peace Prize recipient and Holocaust survivor Dr Elie Wiesel termed Mr. Choudhury as “Hero of our time, a brave-heart and uncompromising crusader against religious bigotry”. Yale University as well as Hudson Institute have hosted him as the key-speaker. The United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has invited him on a number of occasions to get brief about status of religious minorities in Bangladesh.
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury served 7-years rigorous imprisonment in Bangladesh for supporting Israel. Yes, his “crimes” were confronting radical Islam and jihad; denouncing anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial; advocating interfaith harmony; and defending the State of Israel. When he was languishing in prison, pro-Jewish media outlets such as Jewish Telegraph Agency, Times of Israel etc were running cruel campaign against him branding him as a fraud, swindler, con-artist and even fake friend of Israel and the West.
Mr. Choudhury was released from prison on July 31, 2018 and since then, no one will see a word in any of the Israeli or Jewish media about his imprisonment, his extreme ordeals and his release. Why? Because Israel does not need him anymore. Most definitely this will happen to every Muslim who would support Israel.
And what else? For the last 20 years Mr. Choudhury is publishing BLiTZ as a newspaper favorable to Israel and Jews. This newspaper has both print and online edition. Those who are in the publication industry can easily assess the cost involved for running a newspaper for two decades. And – just for the “crime” of supporting Israel, this newspaper does not receive a single advertisement from anyone, although advertisements are lifeline for any newspaper. This newspaper does not receive any support – or at least appreciation and gratitude from Israel or the Jews.
Recently, Australian government has cancelled its previous decision of moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Although Jewish media would run criticism, they will have to understand, Israel is actually losing credibility as a nation to be trusted. When a country can abandon and ignore a person who has served 7-years rigorous imprisonment simply for supporting Israel, shall anyone in the future step into the shoes of an idiot like Mr. Choudhury?
