Netanyahu says Israel will sue The New York Times

3 days ago 15

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's authorities plans to record a defamation suit against The New York Times successful effect to an opinion column alleging wide intersexual maltreatment targeting Palestinian prisoners.

The column, by writer Nicholas Kristof, cites interviews with 14 men and women "who said they had been sexually assaulted by Israeli settlers oregon members of the information forces," but notes Kristoff was incapable to corroborate immoderate accounts of abuse.

Israeli officials condemned the Times for publishing the report. Netanyahu's bureau called it "one of the astir hideous and distorted lies ever published against the State of Israel." In a connection Thursday, the bureau said Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar "have instructed the initiation of a defamation suit against The New York Times."

Netanyahu posted connected X that his ineligible advisers volition "consider the harshest ineligible enactment against The New York Times and Nicholas Kristof."

The Times connected Wednesday nighttime defended Kristof's piece, calling it a "deeply reported portion of sentiment journalism."

"The accounts of the 14 men and women helium interviewed were corroborated with different witnesses, whenever possible, and with radical the victims confided successful — that includes household members and lawyers," said Charlie Stadtlander, a spokesperson for the Times. "Details were extensively fact-checked, with accounts further cross-referenced with quality reporting, autarkic probe from human-rights groups, surveys and successful 1 case, with U.N. testimony. Independent experts were consulted connected the assertions successful the portion passim reporting and fact-checking."

It is unclear if litigation volition beryllium filed successful the United States oregon Israel, oregon who the plaintiffs volition be.

A authorities itself cannot writer for defamation successful the United States, according to Rodney Smolla, a First Amendment student and erstwhile president of the Vermont Law and Graduate School. If Netanyahu oregon different authorities authoritative were to bring the suit, Smolla said they'd apt person a pugnacious elevation to climb.

"I deliberation astatine the extremity of the day, courts would accidental this [article] is insufficiently targeting Netanyahu, and to let him to writer is conscionable excessively perilously adjacent to allowing a suit by the authorities itself," Smolla said.

The New York Times tin besides number connected a antithetic landmark lawsuit successful which it was involved. In New York Times v. Sullivan, the Supreme Court constricted the quality of nationalist officials to writer for defamation, according to Nadine Strossen, a erstwhile president of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Strossen said the plaintiff, whether Netanyahu oregon idiosyncratic else, would person to amusement "that determination was intentional oregon reckless falsity, that they knew oregon had large crushed to cognize that what was being said was false

"It can't beryllium a substance of sentiment oregon of investigation oregon of perspective. It has to beryllium objectively falsifiable," Strossen said.

Yale Law prof Jed Rubenfeld besides noted the Sullivan case, saying "I deliberation determination is astir apt zero accidental of the suit succeeding."

"If you constitute your disapproval of a authorities impersonally without naming peculiar individuals, who you're saying are liable for immoderate the misconduct oregon crimes are….then you're wrong your First Amendment rights," Rubenfeld said.

Public figures successful the U.S. person sued for millions implicit quality sum they considered unfair oregon defamatory, but astatine proceedings they're required to amusement that the newsman oregon steadfast acted with existent malice — the cognition that statements were false, oregon reckless disregard for the truth.

President Trump has successful caller years wielded lawsuits implicit sum helium hasn't liked arsenic leverage to extract millions successful pretrial settlements from the genitor companies of quality outlets, including CBS News. Mr. Trump sued CBS News implicit a 2024 "60 Minutes" interrogation with erstwhile Vice President Kamala Harris. The outlet said the suit was "completely without merit" soon aft it was filed. Mr. Trump and CBS News' genitor company, Paramount, settled successful 2025 for $16 million.

In 1983, Israel's then-Minister of Defense Ariel Sharon sued Time Magazine implicit an nonfiction astir a massacre successful Lebanon. That lawsuit went to trial, and a national assemblage recovered the reporting successful question to beryllium false, but concluded the mag did not enactment with existent malice successful publishing the story.

Smolla said Sharon — who decades aboriginal would service arsenic premier curate — had lasting due to the fact that the reporting that helium claimed was defamatory was astir him specifically. He noted that members of a tiny radical tin person ineligible lasting — adjacent erstwhile unnamed successful the reporting — if they judge they're implicated successful the alleged defamation.

Kristof's file includes a assertion by a writer from Gaza that helium was stripped bare and mounted by a canine arsenic Israeli guards laughed. Kristof wrote that "the Palestinian prisoners and quality rights monitors person besides cited reports of constabulary dogs being coached to rape prisoners."

Smolla said if idiosyncratic constabulary canine trainers brought claims they "might" beryllium viable plaintiffs.

"There are lone a tiny fig of radical with that expertise who person that assignment," Smolla said.

Still, Strossen said adjacent a lawsuit similar that would person small accidental nether the Sullivan standard, since individuals were not named successful the column.

"It seems to maine that would beryllium an imaginative effort," Strossen said.

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