Associated Press describes Um Nidal, also known as Mariam Farahat, as the “mother of three Palestinian Martyrs” in the caption of a photograph about her candidacy.
Um Nidal, mother of three Palestinian martyrs delivering a speech at a celebration at the 18th foundation anniversary of Palestinian militant group, Hamas, on Friday, Dec.30, 2005, in the Syrian capital, Damascus. Hamas organized a celebration at Yarmouk refugee camp in southern Damascus with participation of 2000 Palestinians. (AP Photo / Bassem Tellawi)
Actually, her sons were terrorists and she makes no apologies for their actions. Listen to her proudly describe “putting aside her feelings for her son” in this chilling Hamas video clip. (Courtesy Palestinian Media Watch)
The Three “Martyrs”
One of Nidal’s sons, Muhammad Farahat, was killed after he murdered five Jewish students in Atzmona in the Gaza Strip. Upon entering a school where many students were listening to a lecture, he threw grenades and sprayed the unarmed students with automatic weapon fire, killing five and wounding 24 others.
Another son, Nidhal Farhat was killed with five other Hamas terrorists while preparing a bomb-laden remotely piloted drone aircraft for terror attacks.
Finally, Rawad Farahat was killed while in a truck carrying Kassam rockets to a launching site. Terrorists have launched hundreds of Kassam rockets at Israeli civilian areas.
To describe these three terrorists as “martyrs” completely mischaracterizes the true nature of their deeds and the way they died.
The Candidate
Why was Nidal giving a speech in Syria anyway? She was not just at an “anniversary celebration, ” she was actually campaigning in the upcoming elections for the Palestinian Authority. In addition to noting this, the caption might have mentioned the unusual nature of a Palestinian candidate campaigning for votes in Damascus. Moreover, AP did not consider her “qualification” for elected office to be especially newsworthy.
According to the Independent Media Review and Analysis:
Because of her status as a role model, Um Nidal is once again in the news. She has been chosen to be a candidate on the Hamas list in the upcoming Palestinian Authority parliamentary elections. It is striking, and
indicative of the very nature of Palestinian society as one that accepts and values terror as a way of life, that a woman could be chosen to be a
legislator solely by virtue of her celebration of her son’s terrorism and death.
AP’s caption of their photograph is grossly misleading. HR readers should ask the AP why they chose to use the word “Martyrs” and whether we should expect more of the same in the future.
Comments to the AP: [email protected]
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