Sam Husseini

Sam Husseini is a Jordanian-Palestinian writer and political activist. He is the communications director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, a D.C.-based nonprofit group that promotes progressive experts as alternative sources for mainstream media reporters. He formerly worked at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and at the media watch group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. Husseini has written articles for a variety of publications, including CounterPunch, The Nation, The Washington Post, USA Today and Salon.

Sam Husseini
Born
Osama Husseini

1966
NationalityAmerican
OccupationWriter, activist
Years active1990–present

Early life

Husseini was born as Osama Husseini in 1966 to a Palestinian Christian father from Tiberias, and a Jordanian Christian mother. His parents immigrated to the United States when he was five years old. Husseini grew up in Queens in New York City. He became a US citizen in 1984.[1]

Husseini is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, where he earned a double bachelor's degree in applied mathematics and logic and computation.

Career

After graduating, Husseini worked as a programmer and a math teacher. He then began working for Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) where he was the Middle East expert. After the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, he was in charge of monitoring news media for evidence of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bias.[1]

Husseini was the media director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.[2]

After leaving FAIR, he became the communications director for the Institute for Public Accuracy, a position that he has held since 1997. In 2020, he was listed as a senior analyst for the Institute for Public Accuracy and a contributor to The Nation.[3]

In 2000, he founded the webpage VotePact.org which encourages disenchanted Democrats to pair up with disenchanted Republicans and vote for third parties and independent candidates.[4]

In 2006, Husseini founded the webpage WashingtonStakeout.com which features him pointedly questioning political figures as they leave Sunday morning talk shows.

In 2011, the executive director of the National Press Club suspended Husseini for asking questions of the Saudi ambassador to the US which some thought were "loaded statements." The Club's ethics committee lifted the suspension. Husseini asked Prince Turki al-Faisal, the former head of Saudi intelligence,

I want to know what legitimacy your regime has sir. You come before us, representative of one of the most autocratic, misogynistic regimes on the face of the earth. Human Rights Watch and other reports of torture detention of activist, you squelched the democratic uprising in Bahrain, you tried to overturn the democratic uprising in Egypt and indeed you continue to oppress your own people.[5][6]

In 2018, he was removed from the 2018 Russia–United States summit press conference, prior to Trump and Putin's arrival in the room, when he held a sign saying, "Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty," which the Russian authorities called a "malicious item".[7] A CBS News reporter stated that he had been "heckling" reporters and two security detail members.[8] Husseini said he had hoped to ask Trump a question regarding the first legally binding international agreement to prohibit nuclear weapons, with the goal of their total elimination.[9]

Writing

Husseini has written about U.S. media coverage of the Arab–Israeli conflict.[10] In 1994, he suggested that General Electric's many felony convictions should make the corporation ineligible to hold broadcast licenses.[11]

Husseini wrote the article "Follow the Policy: Why So Long for Iraq to Comply?" shortly before the invasion of Iraq. The piece purported to explain why Iraq had not complied with the United Nations' disarmament demands.[12]

References
  1. "Arab-Americans resent abuse because of bombing suspects". New York Daily News. The Baltimore Sun. March 12, 1993.
  2. HUSSEINI, SAM (May 31, 1998). "Sowing seeds of anger Palestinians: Peace is impossible in the Middle East, the author writes, until Israel acknowledges its history of heaping injustices on the Palestinian people". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  3. "Sam Husseini". The Nation. October 31, 2019. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  4. Husseini, Sam (May 12, 2019). "Mother's Day: The Obscured Roots of a Global Peace Movement". Consortiumnews. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  5. National Press Club withdraws suspension, By DYLAN BYERS, Politico, 11/27/2011
  6. National Press Club suspends journalist for asking Saudi prince a tough question, Ali Abunimah, Electronic Intifada, 18 November 2011
  7. Gillian Brassil; Tucker Higgins (July 16, 2018). "Op-Ed reporter for The Nation forcibly removed from Trump-Putin presser". CNBC.
  8. Brito, Christopher (July 16, 2018). "Reporter kicked out of Trump-Putin press conference in Helsinki". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  9. Bishop, Rachel (2018-07-16). "Journalist dragged out Trump-Putin press conference by Secret Service". mirror. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  10. Husseini, Sam (November 1, 1993). "Media Not Doing Justice To Mideast Peace". FAIR. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  11. Husseini, Sam (November 4, 1994). "Felons on the Air". FAIR. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  12. "Follow the Policy". CounterPunch.org. March 8, 2003.
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