Israel: NYT printed ‘one of the worst blood libels ever’

Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Monday accused The New York Times of publishing “one of the worst blood libels ever to appear in the modern press.”

“In an unfathomable inversion of reality, and through an endless stream of baseless lies, propagandist Nicholas Kristof turns the victim into the accused,” the MFA tweeted, referencing the Pulitzer Prize-winning NYT columnist who wrote “The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians.”

The opinion piece alleged that, despite an absence of evidence, the Jewish state utilizes sexual violence against Palestinians as part of its “security apparatus,” citing the conspiracy theory that Israeli guards coach dogs to sexually assault terrorist prisoners.

The column prompted sharp criticism from analysts, academics and former officials, who accused Kristof of relying on unsubstantiated claims and inflammatory rhetoric.

In his column, the author acknowledged that “there is no evidence that Israeli leaders order rapes” and that he relied on conversations with 14 individuals who “said they had been sexually assaulted by Israeli settlers or members of the security forces.”

According to the Foreign Ministry, Kristof’s publication was “part of a false and well-orchestrated anti-Israel campaign” aimed at placing Jerusalem on the U.N. secretary-general’s blacklist of parties responsible for sexual violence in conflict.

“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,” tweeted the ministry.

“Israel will fight these lies with the truth—and the truth will prevail,” it added.

In the roughly two-and-a-half years since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, Israel has presented extensive evidence of terrorists subjecting women and girls to sexual violence both during the massacre and subsequently in captivity in the Gaza Strip.

According to an April 2026 report by Boundless, a U.S.-based think tank focused on Israel and antisemitism, only 49% of the U.S. population agreed that Hamas committed acts of sexual violence on Oct. 7 and that there is video and photographic evidence.