Netanyahu Says Israel Will Sue New York Times, Nick Kristof for 'Blood Libel' Rape Article: Times Takes More Heat for Relying on Widely Discredited Source
In its statement, Israel notes that Kristof's piece 'received the backing of the newspaper'
Adam Kredo
May 14, 2026
The pressure on the New York Times intensified Thursday after Israel announced it will sue the newspaper over opinion writer Nicholas Kristof's article alleging garish "sexual violence" by Israeli troops against Palestinian detainees. While a Times spokesman defended Kristof a second time, the Times newsroom, which is separate from the opinion section, has been silent as the integrity of Kristof's reporting comes under heavy fire.
"Today I instructed my legal advisers to consider the harshest legal action against The New York Times and Nicholas Kristof," Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on X. "They defamed the soldiers of Israel and perpetuated a blood libel about rape, trying to create a false symmetry between the genocidal terrorists of Hamas and Israel's valiant soldiers." Netanyahu made clear that "under my leadership, Israel will not be silent. We will fight these lies in the court of public opinion and in the court of law."
The Times's front office, meanwhile, is performing damage control on social media, where Kristof's sensational claims—especially his most lurid accusation that Israel uses specially trained dogs to rape male prisoners—are being dismantled in real time. A Times spokesman has already defended the piece in two separate statements—saying that "independent experts were consulted on the assertions in the piece throughout reporting and fact-checking." Media reporters, however, are questioning what type of internal review was conducted prior to Monday's publication and why the newsroom hasn't followed up with a news story on the sensational allegations, which have ballooned into a major story distracting from coverage of President Donald Trump's trip to Beijing.
https://freebeacon.com/media/netanyahu-says-israel-will-sue-new-york-times-nick-kristof-for-blood-libel-rape-article-times-takes-more-heat-for-relying-on-widely-discredited-source/
