An organization dedicated to combating antisemitism has joined a growing chorus of critics condemning the Israeli Foreign Ministry's characterization of a New York Times column as a 'blood libel.' The column, written by veteran journalist Nicholas Kristof, documents accounts of sexual abuse allegedly committed by Israeli soldiers and settlers against Palestinian detainees.
Kristof's May 11 piece, titled 'The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians,' draws on interviews with 14 former Palestinian prisoners and reports from United Nations experts and human rights groups. It highlights systemic sexual violence in Israeli detention facilities, including a controversial claim that a detainee was raped by a dog unleashed by soldiers.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry responded on social media, accusing the Times of publishing 'one of the worst blood libels ever to appear in the modern press.' The ministry added that Kristof 'turns the victim into the accused' through 'baseless lies.'
Watchdog's Rebuttal
The Nexus Project, a group of individuals committed to fighting antisemitism, pushed back sharply. In a post on Bluesky, the group stated: 'To weaponize the term “blood libel” to dismiss Kristof’s thorough reporting is dangerous. It’s insulting to the term’s violent history and hinders our community’s ability to call out actual blood libels when they occur.' The group described Kristof's article as 'a challenging and important read' that 'takes courage and care to expose sexual violence.'
Other pro-Israel organizations, including the American Jewish Committee and EndJewHatred, have echoed the 'blood libel' accusation or amplified similar posts. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) questioned the veracity of Kristof's sources and the Times itself.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry further accused the Times of serving 'a Hamas-driven narrative' and timing the column to undermine a separate report on Hamas's sexual atrocities on October 7, 2023. The Times denied claims that it had refused to cover Hamas's sexual violence, noting it had updated earlier reporting after an Israeli investigator said critical details were 'false.'
Critics of the column have also cast doubt on Palestinian testimonies and linked rights groups to Hamas. This skepticism persists despite numerous reports from UN experts, Israeli human rights organizations, and international bodies documenting rape and sexual violence against Palestinian men, women, and children in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Senior Israeli officials, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have defended soldiers accused of gang-raping a Palestinian prisoner at the Sde Teiman detention facility. The IDF is investigating the deaths of dozens of Palestinians at Sde Teiman, including one man who died after allegedly being sodomized with an electric baton. Right-wing Israeli politicians and pundits have publicly argued that troops should have free rein to rape, torture, and murder Palestinians as revenge for the October 7 attack.
An August 2025 investigation by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation featured Palestinian boys kidnapped by Israeli forces in Gaza who said they suffered or witnessed sexual torture. Last year, Israel blocked a request from UN sex crimes experts to probe alleged sexual violence by Hamas fighters on October 7, reportedly to avoid scrutiny of abuses by Israeli forces.
Some Israeli commentators expressed disbelief at the claim of dogs being trained to rape prisoners. However, similar allegations have been made by Palestinian detainees, and historical precedents exist: female Holocaust survivors reported being assaulted by dogs trained by Nazi SS officer Klaus Barbie, and during the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile, torturer Ingrid Oderock used dogs to rape female dissidents.
The controversy underscores the deep polarization over reporting on Israeli-Palestinian issues, with the New York Times caught in the crossfire. As the Nexus Project warned, misusing terms like 'blood libel' risks trivializing genuine antisemitism and undermining credible journalism.
