The Times Israel abuse claims: Letters to the Editor May 20, 2026

Nicholas Kristof’s column on the alleged sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees reads less like reporting than the application of a new journalistic standard: Believe All Israel Haters (“Left’s turn on Israel complete,” Michael Goodwin, May 17).He leaned on circular sourcing, citing people embedded in the activist ecosystem of Hamas-governed Gaza while presenting overlapping NGOs, recycled testimony and mutually referential reports as if they constituted independent corroboration.The piece appeared just before the release of an Israeli report documenting sexual violence committed by Hamas on Oct.7.

Clearly, the goal was to manufacture moral equivalence between documented atrocities and allegations resting on contested sourcing.Todd PittinskyPort JeffersonWhile Kristof’s recounting may be anecdotal, not one of The Post’s readers seemed to believe there’s any possibility it could be true, despite many noted Israeli authors and historians, such as Omer Bartov, repeatedly condemning the apartheid taking place in Israel.Somehow, this is all too reminiscent of how many Americans reacted to the atrocities of Lt.William Calley in Vietnam.

Just like Americans believed we were above that kind of behavior, many believe the IDF could not possibly engage in these atrocities.Lou MaioneManhattanThe New York Times has a history of championing monsters.Its Berlin correspondent, Guido Enderis, wrote favorably about Hitler, and its reporter on Stalin and his henchmen, Walter Duranty, glossed over the Soviets’ murders and terrorizing of their citizens.Now, the Times has sunk to a new low by publishing Kristof’s article, which the Israeli government describes credibly as a “blood libel.”With the unacceptable, ever-increasing levels of antisemitism, the Times and Kristof must be sued.Jack WeinbergManhattanThe Post’s objections to Kristof’s report of Israel’s abuse of Palestinians is surprising, given the graphic pictures The Post itself has shown of the abso...