Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and foreign minister, Gideon Sa'ar, have threatened to sue the New York Times for defamation over an essay by Nicholas Kristof detailing allegations that Palestinian women, men and children were raped and sexually abused in Israeli military detention.
In a social media post on Thursday, Israel's foreign ministry said the essay was "one of the most hideous and distorted lies ever published against the State of Israel" and that the two leaders had instructed the initiation of a defamation lawsuit against the newspaper. Netanyahu told Reuters: "They defamed the soldiers of Israel and perpetuated a blood libel about rape, trying to create a false symmetry between the genocidal terrorists of Hamas and Israel's valiant soldiers. We will fight these lies in the court of public opinion and in the court of law."
The New York Times defended the piece. Spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha said the legal threat was "part of a well-worn political playbook that aims to undermine independent reporting", and that any such claim "would be without merit". She noted that Kristof had "covered sexual violence for decades" and was widely regarded as one of the world's best on-the-ground journalists in documenting sexual abuse in conflict zones. Another spokesperson, Charlie Stadtlander, said Kristof's interviews with 14 men and women were corroborated with witnesses, family members and lawyers wherever possible, and that details were extensively fact-checked and cross-referenced with human rights groups' research, surveys and UN testimony.
Media law experts expressed doubt about the viability of any lawsuit. David A Logan, professor emeritus at Roger Williams School of Law, said: "There is no chance a US court would countenance such a case," noting that the First Amendment bars governments from suing critics. Mark Stephens, an international media law expert, called the idea "ludicrous", adding: "Libel is about hurt feelings, being shunned and avoided and isolated as a human being. This is as much about politics as it is about law – and courts are alert to the difference."
Kristof's essay, published in the Times' opinion section on Monday, detailed allegations of rape and other sexual abuse by Israeli prison guards, soldiers, settlers and interrogators, sometimes involving dogs. He wrote that he found victims by asking among lawyers, human rights groups, aid workers and ordinary Palestinians, and that while he corroborated many accounts, some could not be verified. He also noted that there was no evidence Israeli leaders ordered rapes and quoted Israeli officials' rejections of the claims. Separately, the Guardian and human rights groups such as B'Tselem and Save the Children have documented similar allegations of sexual abuse of Palestinians in Israeli custody.
