There is apparently an unwritten rule at the New York Times that any criticism of Israel by NGO’s must be taken at face value and must be amplified in the newspaper’s pages. And this rule applies doubly if the organization is Israel-based, like Peace Now.

In March of last year the Times trumpeted false claims by Peace Now about land ownership in the West Bank. The fact that Peace Now’s allegations about the land of Ma’ale Adumim, for example, were not exactly accurate – actually they were off by 15,900 percent – apparently was of little concern at the newspaper of record. The Times, in an August 26 article by Ethan Bronner – Rice, in Israel, Criticizes Surge in Settlement Construction – is back to acting as a virtual PR agent for Peace Now.

In a paragraph apparently intended to disarm criticism, Bronner discloses to readers that:

Peace Now opposes Israeli construction on land captured in the 1967 war, like the West Bank, and favors furthering the creation of a Palestinian state there.

But he then reassures readers, based on no evidence – indeed, based on ignoring evidence – that Peace Now “ is considered a reliable source of settlement information.”

Considered a reliable source by whom? The New York Times newsroom? The literal handful of supporters Peace Now has in Israel? Or is Bronner perhaps referring to the partisan EU bureaucrats who lavishly fund Peace Now? (See for example Exposed: How the European Union Intervenes in Israeli Political Affairs. )

The fact is that Peace Now is unreliable and routinely purveys misinformation, which the New York Times is unfortunately all too eager to parrot.