Netanyahu threatens defamation lawsuit against New York Times over Nicholas Kristof op-ed

NY Post readers discuss Benjamin Netanyahu suing The New York Times for an alleged attack piece by Nicholas Kristof.

This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he would sue the paper and columnist Nicholas Kristof for defamation over the publication of what he called a "blood libel."

The New York Times on Friday said Israeli threats to file a defamation lawsuit against it over an article alleging widespread sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees by Israeli perso...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar have ordered the “initiation of a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times”, according to a joint statement issued by their offices

Israel's prime minister says he has ordered legal action over an article which alleged Israeli security officials raped Palestinian detainees.

The controversy over a piece in The New York Times continued to smolder on Thursday when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his country’s foreign ministry said they might sue […] The post Netanyahu and Israel threaten to sue The New York Times appeared first on Poynter.

Israel on Thursday threatened to take The New York Times to court over a piece it published denouncing allegedly widespread sexual abuse against Palestinian detainees. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar have ordered the “initiation of a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times”, according to a joint statement issued by their offices. The offices said that the piece by Nicholas Kristof, a prominent opinion columnist, was “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”. Kristof’s investigation is based on testimonies gathered in the Israeli-occupied West Bank from 14 men and women who said that they had been sexually assaulted by Israeli settlers or members of the security forces. The report described “a pattern of widespread Israeli sexual violence against men, women and even children — by soldiers, settlers, interrogators in the Shin Bet internal security agency and, above all, prison guards”. The New York Times responded that any legal claim over the “deeply reported opinion column” lacked merit. “This threat, similar to one made last year, is part of a well-worn political playbook that aims to undermine independent reporting and stifle journalism that does not fit a specific narrative,” Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokesperson for the newspaper, said in a statement. Kristof’s piece said there was no evidence that Israeli leaders ordered rapes. The Israeli foreign ministry claimed that Kristof had based his piece “on unverified sources tied to Hamas-linked networks”. It also accused the paper of deliberately timing the publication to “undermine” an independent Israeli report on alleged Hamas sexual violence perpetrated during its October 7, 2023 attack, which was published on the same day. Israeli forces have detained thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank since Hamas’s 2023 attack, which triggered Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The United States has high protections for journalistic expression, with libel suits needing to prove that information was purposefully untrue and with harmful intent. US President Donald Trump and his allies have nonetheless filed a number of lawsuits against media outlets, some of which have reached settlements rather than risk repercussions from his administration.

Netanyahu instructed his legal advisers ‘to consider the harshest legal action’ against the paper

Benjamin Netanyahu instructed his legal advisers "to consider the harshest legal action" against the newspaper and journalist who reported the story from the occupied West Bank.

The opinion writer Nicholas Kristof cited what he called “a pattern of widespread Israeli sexual violence against men, women and even children.” The post Netanyahu threatens lawsuit over New York Times column on Israeli rape allegations appeared first on MS NOW.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government plans to file a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times.

Netanyahu instructed his legal advisers ‘to consider the harshest legal action’ against the paper

Israel said Thursday that Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar had instructed officials to initiate a defamation lawsuit against the New York Times over a Nicholas Kristof opinion column alleging sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees by Israeli forces.

The report alleged widespread sexual violence by Israeli military forces and prison guards against Palestinians. The threat is the latest escalation of legal threats by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against the paper over its coverage of the war.

Media law experts cast doubt on viability of a defamation lawsuit promised by Netanyahu over Nicholas Kristof essayIsrael’s prime minister, Benjamin Nethanyahu, and foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, have threatened to sue the New York Times for defamation over the publication of an essay by Nicholas Kristof detailing allegations that Palestinian women, men and children have been raped and sexually abused in Israeli military detention.“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 wrote in a social media post on Thursday. Continue reading...

Benjamin Netanyahu says he will take legal action over article detailing sexual abuse of Palestinians by Israeli prison guards

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his country's foreign ministry said Thursday they will sue The New York Times, accusing the outlet of defamation after it published a column alleging that Israeli prison guards sexually abuse and assault imprisoned Palestinians. "Today I instructed my legal advisers to consider the harshest legal action against The New...

Israel launches 'defamation' suit after Nicholas Kristof article detailing alleged sexual violence by Israeli forces.

Netanyahu says he had instructed his legal advisers ‘to consider the harshest legal action’ against the newspaper and veteran journalist Nicholas Kristof

Israel plans to sue The New York Times and one of its journalists for defamation over an article that said Israeli soldiers, prison guards and settlers had used widespread sexual violence against Palestinian prisoners. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday he had instructed his legal advisers “to consider the harshest legal action” against the […]

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rejected New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof's accusations of systematic sexual abuse and rape of Palestinian prisoners, calling the claims a "blood libel."

By Steven ScheerJERUSALEM, May 14 (Reuters) - Israel plans to sue The New York Times and one of its journalists for defamation over an article that said Israeli soldiers, prison guards and settlers had used widespread sexual violence against Palestinian prisoners.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday he had instructed his legal advisers "to consider the harshest legal action" against the newspaper and Nicholas Kristof, a veteran journalist who reported the story from the occupied West Bank.

Israeli authorities plan to sue The New York Times over an article alleging sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees.

The NYT published a story by columnist Nicholas Kristof, who cited Palestinians accusing Israel of 'widespread Israeli sexual violence against men, women and even children'

The defamation lawsuit was being pursued following a publication in The New York Times describing "a pattern of widespread Israeli sexual violence against men, women and even children".