We recently saw the New York Times print an article by columnist Nicholas Kristof, in which he made claims about the behavior of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and accusations of mistreatment of prisoners, leading some to describe his words as blood libel. That event may now lead to legal action against Mr. Kristof and the New York Times.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed his legal advisers to look into what legal actions that Israel can take against the New York Times. Since PM Netanyahu made the announcement on his official X account, it appears that he intends to take action on behalf of the nation of Israel, rather than personally.
Today I instructed my legal advisers to consider the harshest legal action against The New York Times and Nicholas Kristof.
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) May 14, 2026
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…
The post reads:
Today I instructed my legal advisers to consider the harshest legal action against The New York Times and Nicholas Kristof.
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.
Under my leadership, Israel will not be silent.
We will fight these lies in the court of public opinion and in the court of law.
Truth will prevail.
We reported on the New York Times piece on Tuesday; at that time, I wrote:
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has released a column that makes some, to put it mildly, questionable claims about the Israeli Defense Forces and their treatment of Hamas prisoners — and he appears to rely on pro-Hamas sources for his claims.
In that story, we noted that many of Kristof's sources had strong ties to pro-Hamas groups, and if there's one thing we have learned to rely on where Hamas is concerned, it is that they are liars.
Read More: Did the NYT Pour Gasoline on NYC’s Antisemitism Problem?
As of this writing, it's not at all clear where this will end up. Prime Minister Netanyahu makes no statement about what options his legal team may pursue, and the First Amendment gives the American press pretty wide latitude. Israel's legal team would likely have to prove that Kristof knowingly lied (or acted with reckless disregard for the truth) pursuant to New York Times v. Sullivan, which sets what is known as the "actual malice" standard for public figures and officials bringing defamation suits. That's a high bar to mount — and, if we care about freedom of the press as defined in the First Amendment, frankly, that bar should be pretty high.
Stay tuned. It's a certainty that this isn't the last we will see from this incident.
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