Following The New York Times’ correction last week of an Op-Ed in which Megan K. Stack truncated the words of Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to falsely depict him calling for the annihilation of the Gaza Strip, CAMERA has prompted additional corrections at National Public Radio, Salt Lake Tribune and The Telegraph (London).
In the wake of Yair Rosenberg’s critique of various media misquotes of Israeli politicians concerning the fate of Hamas (“What Did Top Israeli War Officials Really Say About Gaza?,” The Atlantic), The New York Times published the following correction:
An article on Jan. 12 about charges of genocide against Israel omitted part of a quotation from Yoav Gallant. He said, “Gaza won’t return to what it was before. There will be no Hamas. We will eliminate everything.” He did not say only, “Gaza won’t return to what it was before. We will eliminate everything.”
After the publication of The New York Times correction, CAMERA contacted multiple media outlets which had likewise misreported Gallant’s statements. In response to CAMERA’s correspondence with National Public Radio concerning Laila Fadel’s misquote of Gallant during the Nov. 21 “Morning Edition” broadcast, editors commendably appended the following correction to the top of the transcript:
[POST-BROADCAST CLARIFICATION: Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s full quote, referenced in this interview, was: “Gaza won’t return to what it was before. There will be no Hamas. We will eliminate everything.”]
As of this writing, NPR has not run an on air correction.
Separately, The Salt Lake Tribune, which had republished Stack’s Op-Ed (“Don’t Turn Away From the Charges of Genocide Against Israel,” Jan. 13), corrected in response to CAMERA’s communication informing editors of The New York Times correction. The correction appended at the bottom of the article states:
This article, originally sent over the wire on Jan. 12, 2024, omitted part of a quotation from Yoav Gallant. He said, “Gaza won’t return to what it was before. There will be no Hamas. We will eliminate everything.” He did not say only, “Gaza won’t return to what it was before. We will eliminate everything.”
CAMERA UK likewise elicited a stealth correction of the same misquote at The Telegraph of London, which had originally reported:
Lawyers quoted the defence minister telling troops: “We will eliminate everything, we will reach all places.”
The amended text now accurately reports Gallant’s quote:
Gaza won’t return to what it was before. Hamas won’t be there. We will eliminate everything.
Editors did not append a correction alerting readers to the change.
CAMERA has contacted additional media outlets which have yet to correct the misreported Gallant quote. A correction request at The Toronto Star is pending (“‘Genocides are never declared in advance’: What South Africa told the World Court about Israel’s effort,” Allan Woods).
Meanwhile, editors at The New Republic have yet to respond to requests for correction of the misquote, as well as the completely false claim that far-right ministers Betzalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir are members of Israel’s war cabinet (“Israel’s Subtle Threats at the International Court of Justice“). Under a heading aptly stating “Manipulations,” James Robins claimed:
“We will eliminate everything,” said Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, erasing the line between Hamas and not-Hamas. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich did the same with his appeal to “take down Gaza,” as did National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir when he described the whole Gazan population, guilty or otherwise, as “terrorists.” As Malcolm Shaw, an international lawyer on the Israeli team, conceded, each of these men are the principals of the “war Cabinet” that has the power to shape state policy and issue direct orders.
The five members of the Israeli war cabinet are Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Gallant, former Defense Minister Benny Gantz, former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer.
The well-informed barrister Malcolm Shaw certainly did not say, or in anyway concede, that Smotrich and Ben-Gvir “are the principals of the ‘war Cabinet’ that has the power to shape state policy and issue direct orders.”
When a CAMERA researcher pointed out these factual problems to Robins on X, he hurtled a slew of ad hominem, unprofessional insults, including: “You’ve been fed the line and now you’re shitting it in my direction. Kindly don’t.” Then there was: “You are a big baby. Goo goo ga ga,” and also: “When the fruitloops come for you, treat them accordingly.”
You’ve been fed the line and now you’re shitting it in my direction. Kindly don’t.
— James Robins (@James_ARobins) January 24, 2024
See also “Haaretz Corrects False Report Claiming Netanyahu Weighing Deportation of Gaza Residents”