From silence to sensationalism: The New York Times is rooted in slander
Since its establishment in 1851, The New York Times has claimed to “set the gold standard for American journalism,” seeking authenticity and truth. Yet, its roots are founded in a troubling pattern: a tendency to distort, deny, and hide Jew-hatred. In 1935, Arthur Hays Sulzberger became the publisher of The New York Times. He was Jewish and an outspoken anti-Zionist who did not perceive Jews as a specific nationality or race being targeted. He even expressed concern about the paper being labeled as “too Jewish,” adopting a weak approach that failed to document the horrors of the Holocaust. From 1939 to 1945, The New York Times published over 1,000 Holocaust-related narratives, yet most were relegated to the back pages, and only 26 reached the front cover. Today, its homepage is not too different from its falsified past.
On May 11, The New York Times published a virulent opinion piece on its cover page. Nicholas Kristof, in his column, “The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians,” accused the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) of using dogs to sexually assault Palestinian prisoners, detaching blame from Hamas and Palestinian terrorists who committed systematic, brutal violence to October 7 victims. Kristof’s venomous article was no different than “puppet master,” subhuman tropes, and the IDF was a substitute for Jews. The evidence that Kristof had? He said, “There is no evidence that Israeli leaders order rapes.”
So, what sources did Kristof use in his column? Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, the United Nations, and conversations with questionable witnesses who claimed sexual assault by Israeli soldiers, settlers, interrogators, and prison guards.
The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor is an independent Geneva-based organization that claims to champion human rights across Europe and the MENA region, with a regional office in Palestinian Occupied Territories, a Board of Trustees, a senior staff, and collaboration with other organizations. The founder and chairman is Ramy Abdu, named in a 2013 list of Hamas-linked Europe operatives and affiliated with Hamas networks, including the European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza (ECESG). Abdu has denied Hamas’ sexual assault on October 7, and said that “Israeli violence, particularly in its destructive power and evident desire to humiliate, is akin to the atrocities and humiliation witnessed during Kristallnacht.” His inverted rhetoric brims with the vilification of Jews. He blamed the victims of evil for defending against destructive efforts to end Israel’s existence. Israel is synonymous with Jews. The NGO has also blamed Israel for stealing deceased Palestinians’ organs and has referred to October 7 hostages as having been “arrested and moved to the Gaza strip.” The organization with collaborative ties to Hamas is defending Hamas; this is hardly a revelation.
Kristof’s other source, The United Nations (UN), is complicit in ignoring the atrocities committed by Hamas. It weaponizes systematic violence against Israel, with at least 12 members of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) contributing to the October 7 massacre by constructing weapons, building tunnels, and hiding hostages. Moreover, Reem Alsalem, UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, expressed in late 2025, “No independent investigation found that rape took place on the 7th of October.” The UN’s message is clear: the protection of rights does not apply to Israelis and Jews. Its bigoted rhetoric denies terrorism and distorts the nightmarish events of October 7, undermining the stories of the victims and defending Hamas in the process. The UN has become a breeding ground of Jew-hatred, disguised as hatred of Israel, because anti-zionism is antisemitism.
On May 8, after Israeli forces arrested and detained participants in the Hamas-affiliated Global Sumud Flotilla, the UN likened Israel’s actions to a broader “genocide” against the Gazan population. The UN itself defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group…” How is a state acting in self-defense, like any other nation under attack, equatable to a genocide? In fact, Israeli hospitals have treated wounded Hamas terrorists and Palestinian terrorists after the October 7 attacks. Where were the voices of the UN’s alleged human rights groups when Iranians suffered at the hands of their own regime? Nowhere, because the UN is complicit in applying double standards to Israel.
Kristof said, “It’s impossible to know how common sexual assaults against Palestinians are.” The 14 men and women, Palestinians who purport abuse by Israelis, includes Sami al-Sai, a “freelance journalist.” He was jailed in 2016 for incitement of violence and arrested in 2024 for incitement again, posing a threat to Israel’s national security by operating as a Hamas member. This is further backed by his terror-supporting online presence, most notably his social media post on October 8, 2023, where he celebrated Hamas and “the green flag” that “decorat[ed] the foreheads of the heroic fighters.” Anonymous acquaintances, social workers, and other unidentified sources, along with the nefarious rhetoric of those like al-Sai, baselessly accuse Israeli guards of sexual assault. The claims are not supported by factual evidence and are blatant anti-Jewish rhetoric and distortion.
Shaiel Ben-Ephraim was also referenced as a credentialed voice. This same alleged authority was accused of sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct towards minors at UCLA, where he left to pursue humanitarian activism and geopolitical analysis, simultaneously endorsing anti-Israel radicalism. He said that Zionism “morphed into a project that demanded ethnic exclusivity and supremacy” and that “[his] country, [his] friends, and [his] family were part of a genocide.” Ephriam invokes nuance as a shield for language that normalizes terror.
On May 12, the Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes released a 300-page report titled Silence No More: Sexual Terror Unveiled, compiled over two years, that documents Hamas’ sexual violence against men and women during the October 7 massacre. The report includes survivors’ personal testimonies alongside photographic evidence. On the same day that the report was released, The New York Times published an article covering its findings. While factual from a quick read, it concludes, “Hamas has not commented publicly on the report” and “Hamas has previously denied that its militants were involved in sexual abuse.” The New York Times gives credibility to a terrorist organization, which it falsely terms “militants,” the same perpetrator of the October 7 massacre. It defends the name and livelihood of terrorism, of the monsters who killed more than 1,200 men, women, and children in the most atrocious onslaught against Israel.
The current Jew-hatred exhibited by The New York Times is no different from its downplaying of the Holocaust. Today’s version is just a flashier, more sensationalized propaganda machine. It cannot be a trusted news outlet when its sources are terrorists, its messaging is blood libel, and its narratives nefarious and in no way protected under the First Amendment. Its insidious fabrications incite violence, continue a dangerous cycle of disinformation, elevate a guise that hides the factual events of true terroristic savagery, and foment further antipathy and violence against Jews.
The New York Times is trusted as a reputable name in academia, lauded by educators and administrators. It is cited internationally with a following of over 12.78 million subscribers. But when it is a funnel of Jew-hatred and terrorist networks, how is it safe to normalize its content and socialize students to believe its poison to be honest journalism? And when these same students become professionals, will their logic be indoctrinated by inflammatory lies? The New York Times is not journalism; it is falsehood, concealment, and deliberate contortion of the truth. It is time to boycott it now, because genuine westernization does not invite radicalism to its doors, and free speech does not cooperate with blood libel hatred.
