By Kamden Mulder
Thursday, May 14, 2026
The Israeli government is suing the New York Times over
columnist Nicholas Kristof’s thinly-sourced report accusing Israeli
soldiers and prison guards of using rape and other forms of sexual violence
against Palestinian prisoners as part of an “organized state policy.”
Kristof’s column, which goes so far as to accuse Israeli
soldiers of using trained dogs to rape Palestinian prisoners, cites a number of
obviously conflicted organizations and individuals whose accounts are not
backed by documentation or supporting eyewitness accounts.
“Following the publication by Nicholas Kristof in The New
York Times of one of the most hideous and distorted lies ever published against
the State of Israel in the modern press, which also received the backing of the
newspaper, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar
have instructed the initiation of a defamation lawsuit against The New York
Times,” Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Thursday.
The column cites 14 individuals who claim to have been
raped or otherwise sexually assaulted by Israeli settlers or members of the
security forces, only a few of whom agreed to be named. Of the named sources,
several have changed their accounts over time and at least one has a history of
promoting Hamas terror. The column also relies heavily on claims made by human
rights watchdogs such as Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, a group with close ties
to Hamas and a history of gross and unsubstantiated claims against Israel.
The Times is standing by Kristof, saying in a
Wednesday evening statement that his column is based “on-the-record accounts
and cites several analyses.”
“The accounts of the 14 men and women he interviewed were
corroborated with other witnesses, whenever possible, and with people the
victims confided in — that includes family members and lawyers,” Charlie
Stadtlander, a spokesperson for the Times, said in a statement.
“Details were extensively fact-checked, with accounts further cross-referenced
with news reporting, independent research from human rights groups, surveys and
in one case, with U.N. testimony. Independent experts were consulted on the
assertions in the piece and throughout reporting and fact-checking.”
Some of the baseless claims from Euro-Med include
accusations Israel stole organs from the bodies of dead Palestinians, that
Israeli soldiers executed patients at al-Shifa Hospital, and, as noted in
Kristof’s article, that Israel trains dogs to rape its prisoners.
Canine behavior expert Michael S. Gould previously told National Review the idea that dogs could be
trained to rape people is “absurd,” explaining dogs do not have the instincts
nor the trainability to commit such an act.
Throughout the scandal, the Times has vigorously
defended Kristof and denied speculation that the paper’s masthead is
considering retracting the column, saying “there is no truth to this at all.”
Kristof has similarly defended his reporting, posting on
X, “To those who say that canine rape is impossible, despite the many
Palestinians who have described it, I’d note that at least three different
medical journal articles discuss rectal injuries in humans from anal
penetration by dogs. Sigh.”
Israel, following the publication of Kristof’s report,
noted the Israeli people themselves were victims of horrific sexual crimes.
“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,”
the statement reads.
Israel released its own report the day after Kristof’s
article was published, detailing how Hamas raped and sexually assaulted its
victims during and after October 7.
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