It’s not surprising that the Newseum has chosen to step back from honoring Palestinian journalists killed in the line of duty, given that the institution glorifies the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, Hasbara-style. On one of the top floors there’s a shrine to deceased Las Vegas Sun publisher and armer of Zionist militias Hank Greenspun – his family is one of the founding partners of the Newseum.
The shrine reports that Hank, who supposedly “had a celebrated career as a leading public advocate and crusader for justice,” ran guns to Zionist militias in the 1940s, in violation of the neutrality act. The text from the shrine’s not available online, but check out this Israel-biased report from his wife’s obit:
[Greenspun was] indicted by the federal government for shipping guns to the Middle East to help the Jewish state of Israel defend itself against the Arab armies, which attacked it following the United Nations’ partition in 1948.
The shrine portrays Greenspun’s gun-running as being as natural and heroic as Paul Revere’s actions. Of course, nowhere does the shrine (or anything in the museum) say what those guns were used for: the Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, aka the Nakba.
So what does this museum dedicated to “neutral” and “unbiased” journalism say (or not say) about the state of our media’s neutrality towards Israel/Palestine?
Oh, and by the way – JFK pardoned Greenspun for violating the neutrality act “as a concession in wooing and winning over key donors of the Israel lobby during his presidential bid,” putting a retroactive seal of approval on Greenspun’s role in ethnic cleansing.
P.S. – Speaking of JFK, check out this tidbit from the same article:
Among Kennedy’s last bilateral diplomatic acts was a firm July 5, 1963, demand for regular U.S. inspections of Dimona delivered to the Israeli prime minister. But the push to include Israel in the fledgling nuclear nonproliferation regime died with Kennedy’s November assassination in Dallas. A simultaneous and largely secret Department of Justice drive to regulate the Israel lobby as agents of the Israeli government also subsequently perished.
A 2002 book about prominent La Vegans, The Money and the Power, by Roger Morris and Sally Denton, has a chapter about journalist Hank Greenspun. Working with his friend, Al Schwimmer, Hank Greenspun acquired much of the weaponry that allowed Israel to ethnically cleanse the Palestinians in 1947-1948. The Las Vegas Sun, Hank Greenspun’s newspaper, is still in business, under the leadership of Hank’s son, Brian Greenspun. The Sun has suffered serious cutbacks in recent years, but Democrats hoping for favorable coverage or newspaper endorsements, or campaign contributions, always pay homage to Brian Greenspun.
On the Republican side, there’s Sheldon Adelson, financial supporter of Israel.
The 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination will soon be upon us.
Nice piece, Matthew. That list of Founding Partners is very revealing. Continuing on the subject of distortion of the media, Max Kaiser (“edgy” economic commentator) made an interesting statement yesterday–
Zionism is a parallel reality where the end always justifies the means. I suppose, what else could it have been ? It was never going to be saintly to dispossess and then pauperise a people.
“But the push to include Israel in the fledgling nuclear nonproliferation regime died with Kennedy’s November assassination in Dallas. A simultaneous and largely secret Department of Justice drive to regulate the Israel lobby as agents of the Israeli government also subsequently perished.”
Kinda says it all