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US News

House Speaker Mike Johnson slams New York Times for platforming Hamas mayor: ‘Does the NYT have no shame?’

By
Victor Nava
Published Dec. 26, 2023, 7:56 p.m. ET

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday questioned why the New York Times “provided a platform” for the Hamas-appointed mayor of Gaza City, whose op-ed condemning Israel’s war against the terror group was published by the Gray Lady on Christmas Eve. 

“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,” Johnson (R-La.) wrote in an X post. 

“Does the NYT have no shame?” the speaker added. 

The opinion piece — titled “I Am Gaza City’s Mayor. Our Lives and Culture Are in Rubble” — was authored by Yahya R. Sarraj, who was handpicked by Hamas in 2019 to govern the Palestinian city. 

In his op-ed, Sarraj criticizes Israel for “caus[ing] the deaths of more than 20,000 people” and for destroying or damaging “about half the buildings” in the Gaza Strip. He cites data from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson
“Does the NYT have no shame?” the House speaker tweeted in response to the op-ed. Bonnie Cash/UPI/Shutterstock

Israel’s military campaign in Gaza was launched after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack by Hamas that left around 1,200 soldiers and civilians dead in the Jewish state. Hamas also kidnapped more than 200 people and has refused to release about 130 hostages, according to the Israeli government. 

Republican presidential primary candidate Nikki Haley on Tuesday also joined the chorus of voices slamming the New York Times for running Sarraj’s op-ed.

“Remember when New York Times staff threw a tantrum over a Republican senator’s op-ed?” Haley said in a tweet, referring to a 2020 column by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) calling for a forceful military response to crack down on rioting by Black Lives Matter and Antifa demonstrators in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd. 

New York Times building
The opinion piece – titled “I Am Gaza City’s Mayor. Our Lives and Culture Are in Rubble” – was authored by Yahya R. Sarraj, who was handpicked by Hamas in 2019 to govern the Palestinian city.  Getty Images

Former New York Times op-ed page editor James Bennet was forced out after the paper’s staffers fumed over his decision to green-light Cotton’s piece.

“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 added.