NYT: defends its piece on Israel’s torture of Palestinians
JVL Introduction
There has, rightly, been an outcry from many governments about the treatment of the people participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla and of Ben Gvir’s delight in the power he holds over anyone who tries to support the people of Palestine. As the flotilla detainees said of their appalling treatment, yes it was terrible but it is nothing compared with the dreadful treatment, including torture and sexual torture of Palestinians. The outcry about Kristof’s New York Times article was not about the torture but about publishing the truth about what is happening, with Israel claiming antisemitic “blood libel” and threatening to sue the NYT for saying that dogs raped prisoners. The fact that this is something that has happened before, eg under the Pinochet regime in Chile and has been corroborated by Israeli sources has had far less attention that Israel’s fury and misplaced claims of antisemitism.
Something is very, very wrong. Thankfully the New York Times, hardly the a naturally pro Palestine journal, has refused to back down. They checked for corraborative sources before publication and then “(a)fter publication, we reviewed the factual challenges that readers and others raised, as is standard practice with any published piece. Editors found no errors” (My emph. LL).
Here the Head of NYT Opinion and the original author, Nicholas Kristof respond to some of the issues raised after the article was published.
LL
This article was originally published by New York Times on Thu 21 May 2026. Read the original here.
Your Questions About Nicholas Kristof’s Column on Palestinians and Sexual Assault
The Times received many responses to Nicholas Kristof’s column detailing sexual assaults against Palestinians by Israelis. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel accused The Times of spreading a “blood libel.” Some readers said Mr. Kristof peddled propaganda for Hamas. Some canceled their subscriptions. A number of other readers, including some who said they’re Jewish, wrote that they were grateful the column had run.
In what follows, Mr. Kristof and Kathleen Kingsbury, the head of Times Opinion, respond to some of the most common and pressing questions.
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So the unproven October 7th allegations were included for *balance*?
Viz “numerous independent human rights organizations and other news outlets, has documented the brutal sexual assaults committed by Hamas-led militants.”
From all I’ve seen and read, there is no *independent* HR organisations saying this, only pro-Israel and/or Zionist groups. The *worst case* examples shown to have been fabrications, lies and unsupported allegations.
If I’ve missed truly independent reports, perhap here, b.t.l., links could be given.
The usual caveats apply, to the above article and my comments.
As it happens, British participants in the international effort to relieve Gaza have come home with fresh accounts of Israeli piracy, illegal interception in international waters enforcing the illegal Israeli blockade as part of the genocide of the indigenous people whose land has been taken by Israel.
British participants say how they were physically abused by Israeli troops.
Disgusting verbal abuse by an Israeli government minister is documented.
Ensuing bad publicity is what the Israeli government is calling ‘blood libel’.
>”It serves no one to automatically discount people’s accounts because of their identity or beliefs. I don’t want a hierarchy in which some victims are believed and others are doubted because their accounts don’t fit with what we want to believe about the accused”
Kristof is on the correct side here, but his assertion is too general. A major attribute or goal of national or ethnic” identity”, and of many other group “identities”, is greater trust of in-group members over others. What he condemns does indeed serve leaders of these groups and those who maintain or merely cling to those “identities”, especially those who use those “identities” for nefarious purposes such as aggression, oppression, colonialism, ethnic cleansing and genocide.