ADL Shocked At Newseum Decision To Honor Members Of Terrorist Organization Hamas

NEW YORK, May 12, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today expressed shock and outrage at the decision by the Newseum to proceed with honoring two members of the Hamas terrorist propaganda television operation Al-Aqsa TV as part of its ongoing memorial to journalists who lost their lives in the line of duty in 2012.

Despite vocal public criticism of the decision last week, Newseum officials have said they will go ahead with including the terrorist operatives in its annual ceremony honoring fallen journalists.

ADL said the inclusion of Hussam Salama and Mahmoud Al-Kumi in the Newseum Journalists Memorial was "a dark day for an American institution devoted to free speech and the First Amendment."  Salama and Al-Kumi were members of Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. Department of State.

"It is a dark day when members of a terrorist organization advancing their agenda through murderous violence are honored as part of a tribute to journalists killed in the line of duty," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "This decision flies in the face of the founding mission of Newseum to 'educate the public about the value of a free press in a free society.'  Salama and Al-Kumi were terrorist operatives working for a network that routinely promotes anti-Semitism and incitement to violence.  These men were working for a propaganda outlet, not a legitimate news organization."

ADL urged the Newseum to reconsider the decision and remove the names of Al-Kumi and Salama from the roster of the Journalists Memorial before they are officially added to the permanent memorial scheduled to be unveiled on Monday.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.

SOURCE Anti-Defamation League

View the original article here

AJC Deplores Stephen Hawking's Decision to Boycott Israel Conference

NEW YORK, May 8, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC expressed shock and regret that Stephen Hawking, the British scientist, withdrew from an international conference in Israel. Hawking, who had been invited to join with world leaders at the fifth annual President's Conference in Jerusalem, announced that he was declining the invitation in solidarity with Palestinian calls for a boycott.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100816/AJCLOGO )

"Professor Hawking, can it really be possible that you are unaware of Israel's commitment to peace?" asked AJC Executive Director David Harris. "That you don't know of the efforts of four consecutive Israeli prime ministers to reach a negotiated two-state deal with the Palestinians, only to be spurned time and again? That you are unconscious of the schism between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, or the glorification of terrorists who have killed Israelis, or the culture of incitement all-too-pervasive in Palestinian society? That you are playing into the hands of those who seek to delegitimize Israel and its very right to exist? Forgive me, but how can you be so easily duped?"

Hawking's decision not to attend the President's Conference, hosted by Nobel Peace Laureate Shimon Peres, initially was explained by Cambridge University as a health matter, namely, that doctors had advised him not to travel. But Britain's Guardian newspaper published today the full text of Hawking's letter to the conference organizers, in which he expressed his alliance with Palestinian academics urging academics to boycott Israel.

"I accepted the invitation to the President's Conference with the intention that this would not only allow me to express my opinion on the prospects for a peace settlement, but also because it would allow me to lecture on the West Bank." wrote Hawking in his May 3 letter to the conference organizers. "However, I have received a number of emails from Palestinian academics. They are unanimous that I should respect the boycott. In view of this, I must withdraw from the conference."

Some 5,000 people, including many world leaders, are expected to attend the Israel President's conference in June.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee

View the original article here

Obama comfortable with FDA decision to let 15-year-olds buy morning-after pill

By Steve Holland

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday he is comfortable with a U.S. government agency's decision to allow over-the-counter purchases of a morning-after pill for anyone 15 and older.

Some critics have complained girls that young should not be allowed to purchase the pills without a doctor's approval. But Obama told a news conference in Mexico City that the decision was based on "solid scientific evidence."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday appealed a court order directing the agency to make morning-after emergency contraception pills available without a prescription to all girls of reproductive age.

Lawyers with the Justice Department filed the appeal with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, according to court documents.

The appeal is the latest foray in the years-long legal battle over the pill known as "Plan B," a drug that has also sparked political and religious clashes. If taken up to 120 hours after unprotected sex, it is designed to prevent pregnancy.

The government is seeking to overturn U.S. District Judge Edward Korman's ruling from April 5 that required the FDA to make the emergency contraception available over-the-counter to women of all ages within 30 days.

Obama said it was not his decision to make, that it was up to the FDA and his Health and Human Services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, to decide.

"The rule that's been put forward by the FDA, Secretary Sebelius has reviewed, she's comfortable with. I'm comfortable with it," he said.

(Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

View the original article here