Advocacy @ HBT: The week of May 27, 2026

Advocacy @ HBT: The NYT Opinion Piece by Nicholas Kristof 

Like many of you, we were shocked and appalled several weeks ago when the New York Times published an opinion piece by Nicholas Kristof that contained accusations of systematic, targeted sexual violence in Israel. Kristoff’s piece draws an equivalency between the well-documented war crimes committed by Hamas on October 7th and unverified reports in the Israeli prison system. Kristof’s piece has repeatedly come under fire in the weeks since, including threats of legal action, though as of this time no retraction has been issued. 

Rabbi Splansky addressed the issue explicitly on Shabbat a few weeks ago. PLEASE CLICK HERE to watch Rabbi’s response to this horrific accusation.  

We encourage you to educate yourself about the article, the charges inside of it, and why it is so deeply problematic.  

One resource is the Podcast, “Call me Back” where Dan Senor interviews Matti Friedman. Friedman is a Toronto native, veteran AP journalist, and now often serves as a media critic, calling out failures of journalistic ethics. Together, they break down several of the issues with Kristof’s investigative process and potential failures of journalistic integrity. You can listen to the podcast here. The Making of the Kristof Colu…–Call Me Back – with Dan Senor – Apple Podcasts 

Another resource is the article by Haviv Rettig Gur, which Rabbi Splansky quoted on Shabbat. A response to Nicholas Kristof of the NYT. Please be aware that Rettig Gur’s language is explicit. 

Finally, the Times of Israel published an update to the New York Times’ defence of the story late last week. You can read the piece here.   

Ultimately, as antisemitic tropes continue to play out in the international media, we strongly encourage you to join us at Temple on Monday, June 29 for our evening with Warren Kinsella. Kinsella’s discussion of the investigation into ‘the hidden hand’ motivating global antisemitism will certainly touch on legacy media institutions.  

Learn more about Advocacy here.