Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, August/September 2020, p. 71
By Sami Tayeb
Mohammed Ghuneim, 90, former director of the Voice of America Arabic Service, died May 16 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Born in Jaffa, Palestine in 1929, Ghuneim was known throughout the Middle East, and beyond, for his courageous reporting from Lebanon, Syria and numerous other countries in that region. He covered the June war of 1967, the 1973 Arab-Israeli conflict, and the subsequent ill-fated Arab-Israeli peace talks of the 1970s. In 1991, he also reported on the front lines when U.S. troops ousted Saddam Hussain from Kuwait. He reported in both Arabic and English to regional and global audiences. In an article published in the Public Diplomacy Council, another VOA veteran, Alan Heil, writes:
“In Syria in 1987, Mr. Ghuneim was detained by police for 12 hours while attempting to enter the country. According to U.S. Embassy officials there, American citizen Ghuneim was taken from Damascus International Airport to another location and kept in a tiny, dark cell. He was interrogated repeatedly about his ties to Iraq, PLO leader Yasser Arafat, and the U.S. government.
After vigorous American Embassy appeals to the Syrian ministries of foreign affairs and information, Mr. Ghuneim was released and remained in Damascus for five days. He conducted a half dozen interviews with Syrian educational and cultural figures. And he even hired a contractual reporter for VOA in Damascus. Syrian officials later apologized to Ghuneim, calling his detention a case of ‘mistaken identity.’”
In the final years of his career, Ghuneim directed VOA’s Arabic division in Washington, DC. He is survived by his wife, two sons and daughters and six grandchildren.
John William Beattie, 72, survivor of the 1967 Israeli attack on the USS Liberty during the Six Day War, died June 29. Known to most as Jack, he was born in Detroit, MI on Jan. 4, 1948. He served his country honorably in the U.S. Navy. He worked as a machine repairman for more than 20 years at Bridge Port Machine of Troy. He owned DB2 Machine Repair and operated it for many years. He was a longtime member of the Chief Petty Officers Association (CPOA), U.S, Liberty Veterans Association (LVA) and the Algonac Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 3901. Beattie loved being out on the water and boating. He also enjoyed a nice round of golf and bicycling. He was an avid reader who always looked forward to a good book. Above all, he was a fun, loving and outgoing man who understood the true value of friendship.
Jack is survived by his wife Debbie of 49 years, siblings Joan Ignash and Tom Beattie, many cherished nieces and nephews and many great friends.
Fazana Saleem-Ismail, 47, community activist and research scientist at SUNY Albany, died June 25 of stomach cancer. An active member in New York’s Albany community, she was known by many for educating people about the Muslim faith and speaking out against Islamophobia. According to an article in Albany’s Times Union, “She had many discussions about Islam with all different kinds of audiences including Girl Scout troops, high school students, church groups and public library patrons. She also played a large role in organizing ‘Ask a Muslim’ events where people were encouraged to ask questions of Muslims in an effort to dispel stereotypes.” Saleem-Ismail was also the founder of Jazzy Sun Birthdays, an organization that provides personalized birthdays to children living in homeless shelters throughout the Capital Region in Albany, and a founding member of Salaam Shalom, an organization of Muslim and Jewish women who speak out against negative stereotypes and prejudice. Saleem-Ismail leaves behind her husband, daughter and son.
Mohamed Mounir, 65, prominent Egyptian journalist, died July 13 due to complications from the coronavirus, just days after he was released from jail. Mounir was a founder of the Front for the Defense of Journalists and Freedoms. He previously worked at a number of newspapers, including Youm7, Masr al-Arabiya and Al-Ahaly. On June 15, Mounir was arrested and put in pretrial detention on charges of “spreading false news, joining a terrorist group and misuse of social media” after he appeared on Al Jazeera Mubasher to discuss Coptic issues in Egypt. Mounir became ill while in detention and was transferred to Cairo’s notorious Tora prison complex on June 30. He was released from Tora Prison on July 2, and his health rapidly deteriorated soon afterwards. He wrote updates on his condition and reached out for help on social media for his medical expenses. In one of his posts Mounir wrote, “When I die, I hope my biography will include just one line: Mohamed Mohamed Mounir Youssef participated in the revolution of January 25, 2011 honestly and sincerely.” On July 8, he tested positive for COVID-19 and died in an isolation unit at Agouza Hospital shortly afterward.
Saiful Azam, 79, a Bangladeshi fighter pilot and politician, died of natural causes in Dhaka, Bangladesh on June 14. “A unique figure in the history of Bangladesh, Azam fought in wars as a fighter pilot in three different countries—Jordan, Iraq and Pakistan. During the 1967 Six-Day War, he was the only pilot to have downed four Israeli aircraft.” Mourning him on social media, Palestinian historian Osama al-Ashqar hailed Azam as a great airman. “Our brothers in Bangladesh and Pakistan were our partners in resistance and defending the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” the holy site in Jerusalem, he added. Renowned Palestinian journalist Tamer al-Mishal lauded Azam, calling him “the Eagle of the Air.”
Azam also shot down an Indian fighter jet during the India-Pakistan war of 1965. After his retirement in 1980, Azam became a politician for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
