Hamas appointed Sarraj mayor in 2019. He didn’t win office the old-fashioned way. In this respect he might even represent an offshoot of Our Democracy™.

As the Hamas-appointed mayor of Gaza City, Sarraj must be a senior official of a foreign terrorist organization, designated as such since 1997 pursuant to United States law. Accordingly, it’s illegal for Americans to render material assistance to it, but the Times is of course a law unto itself — as I have had the occasion to point out in years past.

Everyone knows that Hamas is dedicated to the mass murder of the Jewish people and the destruction of Israel. Indeed, it is still showing its stuff for anyone with eyes to see. The Times nevertheless thinks Sarraj has something valuable to contribute.

[The Times clearly thinks that Hamas propaganda is valuable … and maybe it is, for themselves. Duane Patterson and I discussed this on the Hugh Hewitt Show this morning, and concluded that the NYT seems to feel “safe” acting as Hamas Harry, while declaring Tom Cotton’s discussion of American policy on riots and insurrections “unsafe” and beyond their pale. There’s no other way to read this contrast as anything other than an endorsement of Hamas. — Ed]