On the New York Times Attempt to Smear the IDF

The New York Times recent lengthy front page article, “Israel Loosened Its Rules to Bomb Hamas Fighters, Killing Many More Civilians” is disturbing – not necessarily because of the veracity of the allegation, but because of its reputation and the presumption of objectivity, reliability and accuracy of the New York Times.

Yet it is fair to question if this reputation is deserved – especially by those of us who follow developments in the MIddle East as closely as many of us do, and who know the numerous instances when they have inaccurately reported about Israel. Without going into too much detail and without enumerating all of their errors – one need merely recall their false report blaming the bombing of the AlShifa Hospital on Israel, and refusing to correct the story immediately despite overwhelming evidence that the Hamas sources they relied on had lied. Their consistent bias in the way that they report on Israel cannot be ignored, as it permeates most of its coverage of the conflict. This must be taken into consideration when reading a report by the NYTimes – no matter how many reporters they dispatch to research a story. Many of their reporters or sources are Gazans reporting from Gaza, where if they report anything other than the official line of Hamas or anti-Israel propaganda they and their family will suffer dire consequences.

The gist of the story, as implied by the headline is to taint Israel with the brush of a ruthless irresponsible unrestrained response to the invasion of Israel on October 7.  It presents Israel’s response as being an angry vengeful reaction to the massacre of October 7, rather than as a measured military undertaking to eliminate the existential threat on its border, the goal of which Hamas so proudly boasts and proclaims is its intention.

I find it especially ironic that the Times faults Israel for loosening the unprecedented extraordinary precautions that only Israel has put in place to limit civilian casualties. Even if one were to accept Hamas’ proven-to-be inflated figures of approximately 40,000 casualties – and keeping in mind that no distinction is made for deaths not caused by Israel, and noting that almost 20,000 terrorists have been killed, although math was never my strong suit, it is the lowest proportion in the history of modern warfare of combatants to non-combatant casualties. Experts on warfare Richard Kemp and John Spencer have effectively refuted the charges of disproportionate killing on the part of Israel.

We should keep in mind the UNRWA workers, reporters, hospital employees, food workers and others, who despite initial denials turned out to be Hamas operatives, as well as the doctor and his family and other “innocent Gazans” who held hostages as captives in their homes. This is the enemy Israel is fighting, and these are the terrorists’ tactics.

While it is unfortunate and tragic when innocent lives are lost, at the end of the day, the responsibility for the situation and loss of lives lies much more on the terrorists who initiated the war with their brutal surprise attack, who take shelter in underground tunnels and by hiding behind and embedding themselves among civilians, hospitals, schools and mosques while still holding over 100 innocent hostages captive, than upon Israel’s relaxed rules of combat.

Despite the attempt by the NYT to smear its reputation, the IDF remains an army and fighting force we can be proud of – for its effectiveness in fighting such an enemy, and for its morality and decency.

Stuart Weinblatt