A review of publications in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reveals that on key issues, the paper embraces the enemy’s propaganda and serves as an international hub for disseminating its lies against Israel. Which raises the question of whose side the paper stands in this war: Israel or its enemies?
Here are a few brief examples published between Dec. 19 and Dec. 27 in the Hebrew edition of the paper, also released in English:
On Dec. 19, Haaretz spread blatant lies about the availability of clean water in the Gaza Strip. It referenced a report by the anti-Israel Human Rights Watch about the humanitarian situation, claiming falsely that “Israel is guilty of genocide.”
Why? Because immediately after the Hamas-led border infiltration and terror attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, “Israel stopped the flow of water supplied via pipes from Israel, and with the collapse of the power grid in Gaza shortly after the outbreak of the war, desalination facilities also ceased operation. Since then, water flow and desalination have resumed partially via generators.”
Haaretz did not bother to check the facts. Had it done so, editors would have discovered that the water pipes resumed operation at the start of the war and desalination facilities were reconnected to Israel’s power grid long ago. They are now functioning at full capacity.
The paper also ignored other water sources in Gaza: wells and a network of desalination facilities built in the region by the United Arab Emirates.
For Haaretz, embracing any anti-Israeli report without question is standard practice. This was the case with Amnesty International’s report accusing Israel of genocide, as a writer for the newspaper viciously attacked Amnesty Israel employees who dared to challenge the report.
On Dec. 24, Haaretz embraced another blatant anti-Israeli falsehood, this time concerning the treatment of Bedouin citizens in the Negev as the nearby city of Arad begins infrastructure development on a new neighborhood—one that was approved long ago as part of the city’s development plan and lies within the city’s boundaries. Yet there are no Bedouins within kilometers of the Mitzpeh Yonatan neighborhood, which is a part of the natural expansion of an Israeli city on state lands. Additionally, Bedouins who do live near the city maintain good relations with residents; it is also where many Bedouins work and earn their livelihood. Despite all this, Haaretz labeled those living in the new neighborhood as “settlers.”
Beyond adopting the terminology of the enemy, which views all Israelis as settlers, it seems that Haaretz essentially opposes any new Jewish development. For now, at least, Haaretz does seem to be OK with building towers in Tel Aviv, as long as Arabs are also welcomed there.
On Dec. 27, Haaretz criticized the elimination of armed terrorists in Gaza and Judea and Samaria. The paper scolded Israeli citizens for not “raising an outcry” against the killing of armed terrorists, expressing the false Palestinian narrative that those killed were, depending on the incident, either innocent residents of the Tulkarm refugee camp or “journalists” who were killed inside a broadcast vehicle in Gaza.
This, too, was an anti-Israeli lie. The men killed in Tulkarm featured photographs showing them armed and identifying as terrorists, proudly published by the Palestinians themselves. Thorough research has shown that approximately 84% of Palestinian casualties in Judea and Samaria throughout 2024 were armed terrorists.
Similarly, regarding the five “innocent journalists” killed in a news vehicle in Gaza, the IDF said these men were Islamic Jihad terrorists operating from the vehicle. CNN stated that the TV station they worked for was affiliated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
In just one random week, Haaretz embraced a false anti-Israeli report by Human Rights Watch accusing Israel of committing genocide by denying Gaza water, a claim disproven by a brief fact check. It then proceeded to embrace another falsehood about a “settlement” in the Negev, that is, in fact, a legal neighborhood in the city of Arad.
It concluded by portraying the Israel Defense Forces’ elimination of armed and dangerous Palestinian terrorists as the murder of civilians while scolding the Israeli public for not opposing the IDF’s actions.
Haaretz also described Israel’s government as a “foreign regime” that must be fought against. Additionally, despite clear statements from the United States that it is Hamas and not Israel that is obstructing a hostage deal, Haaretz continues to harshly criticize the Israeli government, giving Hamas hope that Israel might succumb to pressure, thereby harming efforts to retrieve the hostages.
What will next week’s coverage bring? Stay tuned.