ANNALS OF LEFTIST AUTOPHAGY: Civil war brewing at New York Times following publication of column alleging rape of Palestinians.
Nicholas Kristof’s column in The New York Times continues to reverberate a week after publication, and has created an internal rift between the newspaper’s newsroom and its opinion section.
The column, titled “The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians,” includes allegations of systematic sexual abuse by Israeli prison guards and soldiers against Palestinian detainees. It cites testimony from 14 Palestinians alleging the use of batons and carrots, threats to rape family members and dogs used for sexual assault while prison staff laughed and filmed the incident.
The article drew widespread reactions around the world, including protests and calls to cancel subscriptions. On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar threatened to file a defamation lawsuit against the newspaper for libel against the State of Israel. Israeli officials and the Israel Prison Service have completely denied the claims, and Netanyahu called them baseless.
Earlier: The Big Tell: NYT Not Reporting Kristof Accusations on its News Pages.
Think about that: the journalists who would run with allegations from the Steele Dossier and make a two-year crusade out of proving it are too ashamed to touch Kristof’s accusations.
That’s how absurd this story is.
Thus the kerfuffle between the Gray Lady’s “news” and opinion departments:
BREAKING: A massive civil war has reportedly emerged within the New York Times, with many journalists questioning the credibility of Kristof’s piece.
One NYT journalist stated: “I am sick of being embarrassed by the Opinion section.”
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) May 18, 2026