Israel Envoy Accuses NYT of Blood Libel; Paper Denies Claims
Translated & summarized from Cursorinfo by baba
Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter accused The New York Times of preparing "the next genocide" of Jews, calling its reporting on Gaza a "blood libel." The newspaper denied Leiter's claims, stating he misrepresented a meeting and made false accusations. The Times said the meeting, requested by Leiter's office, was a respectful, off-the-record discussion about the Middle East.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter accused The New York Times of preparing "the next genocide" of Jews.
- Leiter called the newspaper's reporting on the Gaza conflict a "blood libel."
- The New York Times denied the ambassador's claims, calling them a distortion of a meeting.
- The newspaper stated Leiter "misrepresented the content" of their discussion.
- The meeting was requested by the ambassador's office and was off the record.
The New York Times has rejected accusations made by Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, who claimed the newspaper was preparing "the next genocide" of Jews. Leiter made these remarks on Sunday, November 8, while addressing emissaries from the Chabad movement. The newspaper called his assertions a "serious and false accusation" against its journalism.
According to The Times of Israel, Leiter also recounted a meeting with the newspaper's editors in November 2025, stating that he was accused of genocide and of Israel starving people. Leiter asserted that the newspaper had published material about the actions of the IDF in Gaza which he described as a "blood libel" intended to pave the way for "the next genocide" of Jews.
The New York Times issued an official statement refuting the ambassador's account, calling it a distortion of what transpired during the meeting. "The ambassador misrepresented the content of this meeting and makes a serious and false accusation against our coverage," the statement read.
A representative for the newspaper clarified that the ambassador's office had initiated the meeting and described its nature. "Mr. Leiter's office requested a meeting with our opinion desk. It was a thoughtful, respectful, and substantive conversation about the Middle East that was off the record," the representative stated. The representative added that the war in Gaza was discussed, but the words and accusatory tone attributed to the newspaper by the ambassador do not reflect the conversation.
