In 2018, CAMERA tracked New York Times coverage of the Arab-Israeli with timeline that exposed the newspaper’s brazen disregard of its promises to provide “all the news fit to print” and to report “without fear or favor.”
Instead of impartial reporting, the Times repeatedly distorted news, downplayed inconvenient facts, and departed from journalistic norms in what looked like an effort to popularize opposition to Israel and marginalize support for the Jewish state.
(To view the 2018 Times Line, click here. For a more detailed year-in-review, see CAMERA’s piece in Commentary here.)
Will the New York Times strive for more fair-minded coverage this year? We take a close look with our new Times Line for 2019.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad is internationally designated as a *shhhhhh!*
Jan. 4, 2019
Misrepresented Poll Results
Times editor Jonathan Weisman stumbles on the facts, including hard-and-fast poll results, as he describes prescribes a rift between American and Israeli Jews. Editors stand by the piece, but eventually come clean. (More…)
Jan. 19
Breaking the…Silence?
Or the same old noise?
Columnist Michelle Alexander "breaks the silence" by joining a cacophonous chorus of anti-Israel clichés, using the pages of the Times to spread falsehoods about "50 laws that discriminate against Palestinians" and "streets for Jews only," and to conflate calls for the violent elimination of Israel with advocacy for "Palestinian rights." (More…)
Jan. 21
Times Abrogates Hamas Charter
Just don't tell Hamas.
Bari Weiss tells readers that Hamas has revised its antisemitic charter. It didn't. Hamas leaders have made clear that a recently issued Hamas policy document was not a replacement for the charter, which still represents the core of their position.
Jan. 29
NYT Covers Up Tlaib's Tweet
They forgot the part about "They forgot what country they represent."
After Jewish groups from across the political spectrum condemn a Twitter post in which US Representative Rashida Tlaib charges colleagues with dual loyalty, the Times reports on the controversy—but reporter Catie Edmondson conceals the controversial language. (More…)
Jan. 29
More BDS Whitewashing
Again: It seeks an end to Israel, not just the occupation.
As it has repeatedly done, the Times downplays the extreme goals of the anti-Israel BDS Movement, with reporter Catie Edmondson dubbing it a group that "seeks to pressure Israel into ending the occupation of the West Bank." In fact, it seeks an end to Israel. (Here's what we said about it last year…)
Feb. 21
Is Anti-Anti-Semitism a Conservative Conspiracy?
"It's all about the Benjamins" becomes "It's all about the Republicans."
Democrats and Republicans alike joined Jewish groups in criticizing anti-Semitic rhetoric by a new member of Congress, but the New York Times' Sheryl Gay Stolberg frames it all as a Republicans ploy. (More…)
March 3
Advocacy Journalism Casts Israel as "Brutal"
That's also how the newspaper describes ISIS and North Korea.
Jerusalem bureau chief David Halbfinger inserts anti-Israel opinion into the news pages, editorializing about Israel's purportedly "brutal treatment of the Palestinians." (More…)
March 6
Reporter Aids Omar's Anti-Semitic AIPAC Rhetoric
Times investigates whether US support for Israel really is all about the Benjamins.
The Times paints AIPAC as a nefarious influence rather than a legitimate part of American democracy. Using a misleading frame and false assertion, the article promotes Ilhan Omar’s anti-Semitic rhetoric about Jewish money and power warping U.S. policy. (More…)
March 11
Embellishing Rabbinical Power
No, Israel's Rabbinate isn't in charge of circumcision.
Times columnist Bari Weiss errs when claiming Israel's rabbinical authorities are in charge of circumcision. (More…)
March 14
Times "Editors' Note" Adds Error on Jaffa
Most of the city's Arabs were not "expelled"
Editors add an update — and an error — to a travel article about the city of Jaffa. The new language claims that most of Jaffa's Arabs had been "expelled" in 1948, but historians and reporters document a voluntary flight.(More…)
March 20
Another Misrepresented Pew Poll
For the second time this year, a reporter misrepresents a poll question, refuses to correct
Instead of forthrightly describing a 2016 Pew poll question, Jerusalem bureau chief David Halbfinger inserts words and ignores others to make Israeli views about Arabs appear more extreme. The paper refuses to correct the straightforward error. (More…)
March 21
Times Columnist Says Media Ignores Hamas Crackdown on Palestinians
His own employer included
In a stunning act of internal criticism, New York Times columnist Bret Stephens accuses the press — with a special reference to his own newspaper — of ignoring Hamas violence against peaceful Palestinian protesters. Western journalism "has been depressingly incurious about any form of Palestinian suffering for which Israel cannot be held responsible," he says. (More…)
March 23
Did the New York Times Solve Uranium Mystery?
No, it just reported unproven suspicions as fact
In an obituary for an Israeli spymaster, reporters state as fact that he stole uranium from the United States. A subsequent correction makes clear that the allegation remains unproven. (More…)
March 25
Finally, Coverage of Hamas's Violent Crackdown on Gazans
After ignoring it for 10 days
After glossing over the story for ten days — and after the paper's indifference was criticized by a Times columnist — the paper gets around to covering a violent crackdown by Hamas against its own citizens in Gaza. (More…)
March 28
Partisan Pens Partial History
Land ownership and other errors
Nathan Thrall bombards readers with repeated falsehoods and distortions — for example, the claim that Arabs owned 90 percent of land in British Palestine when in fact they owned closer to 14 percent. (More…)
April 7
Blundering on a Billboard
And basic political awareness
An egregious misunderstanding of an Israeli political ad suggests the newspaper is out of its depths when it comes to the language and politics of the country it so fervidly covers. (More…)
April 9
An Error on Oslo and Palestinian State
The latter wasn't promised in the former
It is untrue that the Oslo peace agreements "committed both sides to a two-state solution," as claimed by the Times. Even the newspaper itself has previously reported that the Oslo Accords say nothing about Palestinian statehood. (More…)
April 9
Reporters Ask if Israel is Terrorist
Just because…
In a story about the U.S. designation of Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terror group, Times reporters ask whether Israeli intelligence should also be labelled a terrorist organization. (More…)
April 14
The Daily Podcast Errs on Israel
Bias over the airwaves
The podcast excludes Israeli voices, suggests Palestinians didn’t attack Israeli civilians during the intifada, conceals the Palestinian rejection of peace offers, blames Netanyahu for building the security barrier, and misstates the U.S. position on the legality of the occupation. (More…)
April 14
Reporter Rewrites Omar Controversy
Conceals Democratic leadership's criticism of anti-Semitic comments
Reporter Glenn Thrush says Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's "comments about Israel have been interpreted as anti-Semitic by some Jewish Democrats in Congress." But the comments were about Americans. And they were criticized by Democratic leaders like Nancy Pelosi (Catholic), Steny Hoyer (Baptist), James E. Clyburn (Methodist), Hakeem Jeffries (Baptist), and Katherine Clark (Protestant). (More…)
April 15
Billboard Outside Times Building Calls Out Bias
CAMERA's billboard facing the Times newsroom says: "While Hamas firebombs Israel, the New York Times inflames with biased coverage. (More…)
April 25
Anti-Semitism in the Times
The New York Times prints an anti-Semitic cartoon depicting the Israeli prime minister as a guide dog for the blind American president, who has been turned into a Jew by his controllers. Days later, the newspaper later acknowledged the cartoon was antisemitic and apologized. (More…)
May 6
Excusing Hamas Violence
Because "impatience" justifies shooting
Times reporter David Halbfinger excuses a Hamas sniper attack as an "expression of Palestinian impatience with Israel’s failure to alleviate dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza," and fails to acknowledge Palestinian attacks against civilians are war crimes. (More…)
May 7
Again, Excusing Hamas Violence
Hamas's "impatience" and "stray rockets" kill Israeli civilians
David Halbfinger again excuses Hamas violence, responding to Hamas war crimes by saying the group "can express its impatience with weapons" and wrongly implying Israelis are killed by "stray rockets." (More…)
May 15
Hamas Shooters Dubbed "Demonstrators"
NYT confuses Kalashnikovs with protest signs
For the third time in May, the newspaper bends facts to defend Hamas, claiming Hamas gunmen killed while shooting Israelis were shot down while merely "demonstrating along the border fence." (More…)
June 9
A Tale of Two Interviews
Instead of letting the strengths and shortcomings of the Palestinian prime minister and the American Ambassador to Israel speak for themselves, the New York Times changes its reporting style as a signal to readers about who they should support. (More…)
June 11
The Iran Reporter and the Iran Reporting
Is Iran preventing hard-hitting coverage?
On the day the newspaper belated admits its correspondent in Teheran has been incapacitated by the Iranian government, it neglects to report that the Iranian foreign minister defended executing gay citizens. The two might be related. (More…)
June 19
A Loaded Question to Incriminate Israel
"Have you stopped beating your wife?"
The newspaper insists that if presidential candidates doesn't attack Israel, it is proof they are "unwilling" to criticize the country. (More…)
June 21
When is a War Crime Not a War Crime?
Sudden silence on Hamas and international law
The same paper that insists failure to slam Israel is proof of self-censorship suddenly forgets about international law in its reporting on Hamas. (More…)
June 21
Holocaust Inversion
A book review gushes over a novel that analogizes Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war to Jewish victims of the Nazis, in what amounts to “Holocaust Inversion.” (More…)
July 9
Cherry-Picked Poll Questions
Uncomfortable answers ignored
A story about a decrease in Palestinian support for protests cites a poll, but ignores the poll's finding of strong Palestinian support for anti-Israel violence. (More…)
July 9
A Mearsheimer Op-Ed
Some thoughts from the man who defended Holocaust denial
Gilad Atzmon is a vile anti-Semite, and John Mearsheimer is his defender and promoter. So why is the latter invited onto the Times opinion pages? (More…)
July 9
Advocacy Journalism for Anti-Israel Advocates
The Times gives J Street an "Infomercial"
When J Street convinces students to reject Israel's right to exist, David Halbfinger casts the group as truth-tellers. Literally. Not a word of skepticism or criticism of the organization appears in the article. (More…)
July 15
"Conversion therapy," Hanging gays, Killing Jews
Which is worse? Whichever can be tied to Israel!
Reporters leaped on the story when an Israeli politician expressed the outdated belief that gay "conversion therapy" is effective and desirable. Maybe they didn't notice when, earlier, Iran's foreign minister defended the country's execution of homosexuals, and when a Hamas leader called on Palestinians to slaughter Jews everywhere? (More…)
July 27
A BDS Whitewash
After Congress calls out BDS, the Times intervenes
In a piece purporting to explore whether BDS is antsemitic, the Times ignores the view of mainstream Jewish organizations, ignores an internationally backed definition of antisemitism, inflates support for the anti-Israel campaign, and conceals BDS bullying of performers. (More…)
July 30
Times Grossly Overstates Remaining Number of 1948 Refugees
CAMERA prompts a correction
The newspaper claims UNRWA serves "hundreds of thousands" of Palestinians who became refugees in 1948. In fact, that number is closer to 30,000 today. After communication by CAMERA, the newspaper quietly corrects the error.(More…)
July 31
Video: How the Times Downplays Hamas Extremism
CAMERA's video asks why the newspaper conceals the ugly truth about Hamas and its war crimes. (More…)
Aug. 23
Antisemitic Tweets by Times Editor
Editor had mocked Jews and Amish
Senior editor Tom Wright-Piersanti apologizes after confronted with his Twitter posts from 2010 trafficking in glib antisemitism and suggesting the Amish should be called "Pennsylvania Douche" instead of Pennsylvania Dutch. (More…)
Aug. 29
BDS Not Merely Anti-Occupation
CAMERA prompts correction after paper mischaracterizes extremist boycott campaign
As it has done countless times before, the New York Times had whitewashed BDS by claiming it merely “advocates cutting ties with Israel until it ends its occupation of the West Bank.” The campaign is widely viewed as antisemitic, and target's Israel's very existence. (More…)
Sept. 10
Echoing B'tselem Propaganda
Palestinians not barred from 85 percent of Jordan Valley
Some Jordan Valley land is off limits to Jews and Palestinians alike. But it is not true that Israel bars Palestinians from 85 percent of the territory. (More…)
Sept. 13
Architecture Critic Looks Wistfully at Ethnically Cleansed Jerusalem
A planned cable car is an occasion to take aim at the Jewish state
The newspaper's critic has kind words for the supposed preservation of the city during Jordan's occupation, which in fact oversaw an ethnic cleansing of Jews and the destruction of Jewish sites including prominent synagogues. (More…)
Oct. 28
Times Erases Klobuchar's Support for US Aid to Israel
Falsely suggests she avoided comment
The Times twice reports that presidential hopeful Amy Klobuchar declined to answer a question about U.S. aid to Israel, concealing from readers that during the interview in question the senator expressed strong support for continued aid: "I am so wedded right now to making sure we continue the aid." (More…)
Nov. 12
Islamic Jihad is…
Shhhh…
After early versions of an article story about fighting between Islamic Jihad and Israel noted that Islamic Jihad is an internationally designated terror group, that language was mysteriously scrubbed from the story. (More…)
Nov. 13
is…
…shhhhhhhhhh
Another day, another article that ignores Islamic Jihad's terror designation — even while other Times stories use or quote the t-word in reference to Kurdish militias, Hong Kong protesters, and ISIS. (More…)
Nov. 14
…is
…"nettlesome"??
A third story finally uses the notes Islamic Jihad is viewed as a terror group — but it suggests only the US and Israel see it as such. Meanwhile, the newspaper itself mildly casts the terrorists, who have murdered countless innocent Israelis, as merely "nettlesome," "unruly," and engaged in "resistance." (More…)
Nov. 26
"Fierce Debate" Among British Jews?
No. Vast majority of Jews dislike Jeremy Corbyn
A newspaper might hope to generate debate. But it shouldn't fabricate debate. The New York Times, though, did the latter when reporting on a supposed "fierce debate" among British Jews about Jeremy Corbyn's suitability for office. (More…)
Dec. 13
CAMERA Prompts Another Correction on BDS
The corrected editorial makes clear that BDS is viewed as antisemitic, and that its supporters oppose Israel’s existence. (More…)
Dec. 17
Better BDS Language
After years of egregiously misrepresenting the anti-Israel BDS campaign, and after two corrections this year, a Times news story takes a step in the right direction, informing readers that both opponents and supporters of BDS say its demands "would lead to the destruction of Israel as a Jewish state," and that "some consider it a thinly disguised expression of anti-Semitism."