Israel Foreign Ministry condemns New York Times piece as 'one of the worst blood libels' in modern press
Note: This story contains graphic allegations of sexual violence.
The Israel Foreign Ministry blasted The New York Times on Monday for publishing what it called "one of the worst blood libels ever to appear in the modern press" after a left-wing columnist reported that Palestinians are regularly being sexually abused by everyone from Israeli prison guards to dogs.
Times opinion columnist Nicholas Kristof penned the controversial piece headlined, "The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians," that features men and women alleging "brutal sexual abuse at the hands of Israel’s prison guards, soldiers, settlers and interrogators." Many critics blasted it as "propaganda" and poked holes in the reporting, while the Israeli government promised "the truth will prevail."
"Whatever our views of the Middle East conflict, we should be able to unite in condemning rape," Kristof wrote, noting that supporters of Israel denounced sexual violence that occurred during the Hamas-led terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
"And yet in wrenching interviews, Palestinians have recounted to me a pattern of widespread Israeli sexual violence against men, women and even children," Kristof wrote, adding that "American tax dollars subsidize the Israeli security establishment, so this is sexual violence in which the United States is complicit."
Kristof spoke with "14 men and women who said they had been sexually assaulted by Israeli settlers or members of the security forces." He noted that the Israeli government rejected the claims but added, "just as Hamas denied raping Israeli women."
The liberal columnist went on to claim that some Palestinians "had their genitals yanked or were beaten on the testicles," "some men had to have their testicles amputated by doctors," and metal batons were used to rape men. Kristof then said a Gaza journalist claimed he was "mounted" by a dog.
"He tried to dislodge the dog, he said, but it penetrated him," Kristof wrote.
"Other Palestinian prisoners and human rights monitors have also cited reports of police dogs being coached to rape prisoners," the Times columnist added. "Think of it this way: The horrific abuse inflicted on Israeli women on Oct. 7 now happens to Palestinians day after day."
The Israel Foreign Ministry has condemned the report as malicious and false.
"In an unfathomable inversion of reality, and through an endless stream of baseless lies, propagandist Nicholas Kristof turns the victim into the accused. Israel - whose citizens were the victims of the most horrific sexual crimes committed by Hamas on October 7, and whose hostages were later subjected to further sexual abuse - is portrayed as the guilty party," the Israel Foreign Ministry wrote on X.
"This publication is no coincidence. It is part of a false and well-orchestrated anti-Israel campaign aimed at placing Israel on the U.N. Secretary-General’s blacklist," they added. "Israel will fight these lies with the truth - and the truth will prevail."
The New York Times did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kristof called the response a "critical take" from Israel’s Foreign Ministry and shared a free link to the story.
Pro-Israel media watchdog Honest Reporting called the piece "journalistic malpractice" and sharply criticized his reliance on "freelance journalist" Sami al-Sai as a source.
Yechiel Leiter, Israel's ambassador to the United States, posted a video urging Americans not to "buy into their blood libels."
"The only clear crime on display here is the violation of journalistic standards by Mr. Kristof and his paper," Leiter said, blasting "questionable" sources with ties to the terror group Hamas.
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Many others took to social media with critical thoughts on the piece:
Kristof wrote on Tuesday, "I appreciate the intense interest in my column. For skeptics, why not agree on Red Cross and lawyer visits for the 9,000 Palestinian ‘security’ prisoners? If you think these abuse allegations are false, such monitoring visits would be protective. So why not?"
Kristof is aligned with the Democratic Party, which has become sharply more anti-Israel in recent years, and even made an aborted bid for Oregon governor as a Democrat.