Photo editor who resigned from CNN over antisemitic tweets apologizes
A CNN photo editor who resigned on Thursday evening after antisemitic tweets of his resurfaced, with one calling Jews “pigs” in the aftermath of a 2011 Palestinian bombing at a crowded Jerusalem bus station, has apologized.
CNN logo. Credit: Flickr.
“Yesterday, tweets that I made in 2011 resurfaced in which I made offensive and hateful comments,” said Mohammed Elshamy, 25, in a statement released on Friday. “I want to unequivocally express my apology to everyone, especially those in the Jewish community, who were offended by the tweets. I also want to apologize to my family, friends and mentors who I am ashamed to have let down in this way.”
He continued:
These views, which I posted when I was 16, are ones I no longer hold and have not held for many years. Nor do they represent the values I carry in my professional career, which began at a very young age, and, through which, I have witnessed first-hand wars, massacres and conflicts—in short, the awful cost of hate, especially when directed at marginalized people.
I would like to thank everyone at CNN, especially my manager, for the opportunity they gave me. It is with great regret that I have presented my resignation.
I hope that the work I have produced in my photography career, as well as the work I hope to be privileged enough to continue to produce, will be a testament to the ethics that I value today.
I will continue to work on becoming a better person, one who does not discriminate, hate, or accept injustice, and I will continue to hold myself accountable for my actions, and work to correct any harm I have caused.
Elshamy joined the cable-news network in January.
Republican operative Arthur Schwartz first exposed the tweets on Thursday.
This is @CNN. pic.twitter.com/d2xmGcodhc
— Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) July 25, 2019
In another 2011 tweet, Elshamy posted, “Israel is the main enemy for the people of Egypt and shall always remain rulers who lick Jewish legs.”
Between 2010 and 2012, Elshamy’s antisemitic posts have included tweets such as “HAMAS HAMAS HAMAS #Anti-Israel #Gaza #Palestine #Hamas”; “So telling us a fake story about nearly being killed should we cry or something? #Israel #Netanyahu #fail”; “The idiot is breaking my heart while talking about Holocaust :’(#Israel #S***Israel #OMAK“; “#Netanyahu is a JOKE #Israel”; and “Despite everything happening now in Egypt. I’m proud of the army generation that liberated us from the Zionist pigs @ 6 october 1973 #israel.”
In announcing Elshamy’s resignation, CNN spokesperson Matt Dornic said, “CNN is committed to maintaining a workplace in which every employee feels safe, secure and free from discrimination regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or religion.”
JNS
