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Tags: new york times | gaza | hamas | sarraj | israel | mayor | supporters

NY Times Slammed for Piece by Gaza City's Hamas Mayor

By    |   Tuesday, 26 December 2023 07:46 AM EST

The New York Times is under fire for publishing a Christmas Eve opinion piece written by Gaza City Mayor Yahya Sarraj, who was appointed to his post in 2019 by Hamas, with supporters of Israel saying the decision to post the article promotes "Jew hate."

In his article, "I am Gaza City's Mayor. Our Lives and Culture are in Rubble," Sarraj condemns Israel, saying it has "caused the deaths of more than 20,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry," while destroying or damaging about half the territory's buildings, drawing outcry, reports The New York Post.

"The Israelis have also pulverized something else: Gaza City's cultural riches and municipal institutions," Sarraj, who became mayor after a career as an academic, wrote. "The unrelenting destruction of Gaza — its iconic symbols, its beautiful seafront, its libraries and archives, and whatever economic prosperity it had — has broken my heart."

His remarks soon drew backlash.

"I wonder, would NYT also publish an op-ed from Al-Qaeda justifying 9-11? Of course not, but there is no red line to this paper's Jew-hatred," tweeted Arsen Ostrovsky, an International human rights attorney who describes himself on X as a Zionist posted.

"Unbelievable. This is a Hamas-appointed Mayor," another X user said. "They slaughtered and raped their neighbors and have the nerve to represent themselves as victims?"

Others criticized Sarraj for failing to mention the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre in Israel, leading to the assault being launched on Gaza.

"Literally a member of Hamas, you have no shame or dignity NYT," wrote an X user.

Another user, though, said that it is "imperative that we listen — whether we like it or not — to other voices," but said that the mayor "was intricately aware of the tunnels being build under #Gaza. As we all know, Sarraj probably would have been killed and/or family threatened, if he didn't tow the line. Either way Sarraj was complicit in what has befallen Gaza."

Still, the newspaper's critics also pointed out that former editorial page editor James Bennett was forced out of his job after allowing a guest column by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., to be published.

In his article, written in the summer of 2020, Cotton called for a military response to Black Lives Matter protests and rioting that had taken place after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Bennet published a column in The Economist this month, stating that the newspaper shuts down all debate.

The Times did not return a request for comment from the rival Post.

Sandy Fitzgerald

Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics. 

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


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The New York Times is under fire for publishing a Christmas Eve opinion piece written by Gaza City Mayor Yahya Sarraj, who was appointed to his post in 2019 by Hamas, with supporters of Israel saying the decision to post the article promotes "Jew hate."
new york times, gaza, hamas, sarraj, israel, mayor, supporters, jews
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2023-46-26
Tuesday, 26 December 2023 07:46 AM
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