Netanyahu and Sa’ar to sue New York Times over ‘rape dog’ claims
Israeli government says legal action will target “hideous and distorted lies” published by the newspaper
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar have instructed officials to begin legal action against The New York Times over an article alleging sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees by Israeli security forces.
The piece, written by columnist Nicholas Kristof and published in the newspaper’s opinion section on Monday, included allegations from former Palestinian detainees who claimed Israeli guards used dogs to sexually assault prisoners.
Among the claims detailed in the article were allegations of beatings, sexual violence during interrogations, threats against children and the alleged abuse of a female detainee.
One former Gazan detainee reportedly alleged that guards encouraged a dog to sexually assault him while he was blindfolded and restrained.
According to the article, Kristof interviewed 14 Palestinians who alleged sexual abuse and said some accounts were supported by witnesses, lawyers, relatives and social workers.
In a statement published by Israel’s Foreign Ministry, the Prime Minister’s Office said: “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 Foreign Ministry had earlier described the article as “one of the worst blood libels” of the modern era.
The New York Times defended the piece in a statement issued this week, saying: “Nicholas Kristof’s deeply reported piece of opinion journalism starts with a proposition to readers: ‘Whatever our views on the Middle East conflict, we should be able to unite in condemning rape’.”
The newspaper added that the accounts had been “extensively fact-checked” and cross-referenced with reporting, human rights research and, in one case, United Nations testimony.
It remains unclear who exactly will be named as the plaintiff in any legal case. Under US law, governments themselves cannot typically bring defamation claims.
Any lawsuit filed in the United States would also place the burden on the claimant to prove the allegations were false.
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