‘Does the NYT have no shame?’ US House Speaker, Nikki Haley slam New York Times for giving Gaza Mayor a platform
Controversy sparks as The New York Times faces criticism for publishing an op-ed by Gaza City's Hamas-appointed mayor.
The New York Times is facing backlash from Republican lawmakers, presidential hopefuls and even House Speaker for publishing an op-ed by the mayor of Gaza City. They claim it was orchestrated by the terrorist group Hamas.
The oped, which appeared on the paper’s website on Christmas Eve, denounced Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip and blamed it for the deaths and destruction caused by the recent conflict.
House Speaker Mike Johnson was among the first to condemn the paper for giving a voice to a Hamas official.
“The New York Times provided a platform to a politician appointed by Hamas — the group designated by America as a foreign terrorist organization and responsible for the heinous October 7th massacre. Does the NYT have no shame?” He wrote in an X post.
The op-ed, titled “I Am Gaza City’s Mayor. Our Lives and Culture Are in Rubble”, was written by Yahya R. Sarraj, who was chosen by Hamas in 2019 to lead the Palestinian city. Sarraj accused Israel of “caus[ing] the deaths of more than 20,000 people” and of destroying or damaging “about half the buildings” in the Gaza Strip. He also claimed that Israel had violated international law and human rights.
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Israel launched a military operation in Gaza after a terrorist attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, which killed about 1,200 Israeli soldiers and civilians. Hamas also abducted more than 200 people and has refused to free about 130 of them, according to the Israeli government.
Nikki Haley also voices against NYT
Another Republican who criticized the New York Times for running Sarraj’s op-ed was Nikki Haley, who is running for president in 2024. She tweeted, “Remember when New York Times staff threw a tantrum over a Republican senator’s op-ed?” She was referring to a 2020 column by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) that advocated for a strong military intervention to quell the violent protests by Black Lives Matter and Antifa activists following the police killing of George Floyd.
The column sparked outrage among the paper’s staff and led to the resignation of James Bennet, the former op-ed page editor.
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“We heard no complaints from NYT staff about publishing an op-ed by a Hamas-appointed mayor over Christmas. That tells you everything you need to know about the state of our media,” Haley continued.