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New York Times Adds ‘Editor’s Note’ to Article That Whitewashed Violent Anti-Israel Protest
An anti-Israel protester burns an Israeli flag in front of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, on June 8, 2024. Photo: Aashish Kiphayet/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect
In Washington, DC this weekend, an anti-Israel crowd attacked a park ranger by throwing bottles at him as he tried to protect a statue that they were vandalizing. Other masked protesters chanted, “Hezbollah, Hezbollah, kill another Zionist now.”
That’s what happened according to videos shared on social media posts by members of the US Congress, both Democrat and Republican. Yet the New York Times whitewashed the protest, publishing an article that made no mention of the assault on the park ranger. The Times only added in a mention of the assault to its story two days after it was published — and after being denounced in other publications.
The byline over the Times article is that of Minho Kim. His LinkedIn profile describes him as a “news assistant” at the Times who started work there in January and who hopes “to continue writing stories on the climate crisis.” The profile says he was a 2022 graduate of Northwestern University who was born and raised in South Korea and “calls himself a voluntary third-culture adult.”
The Times article originally mentioned violence not by the protesters but by the police, who, according to the article, “used pepper spray against a protester at least once.” The article didn’t give any reason why the police did that.
The Times article consistently described the mob as a group of “pro-Palestinian protesters,” even though it would be terrible for the Palestinians to leave Hamas in power in Gaza — and even though many of the protesters appeared to be motivated more by anti-Israel animus than by sympathy for the Palestinians.
The Times article mentioned “the more than 36,000 Palestinians who had been killed during the war” without noting those numbers came from the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry and press office. The article also failed to note that number included many people who even the Gazan authorities said they hadn’t fully identified, or that Israel said it had killed upwards of 12,000 enemy fighters, or that at least some of the Palestinian deaths were the result of misfired rockets aimed at Israel.
Other basic facts in the Times article were incorrect, outdated, or lacked context. The Times context on US aid to Israel, for example, mentioned “$38 billion over ten years,” a sum that didn’t include an additional $15 billion in aid approved in April.
The Times article reported, “Many of the protesters on Saturday chanted slogans that some groups have said incite violence against Jews … But according to one protester, such slogans were not a call for violence against Jewish people, but for a broader resistance against the status quo.”
The article concluded: “‘We don’t have anything against Jews,’ said Adam Kattom, a founding member of Peoria for Palestine, who had traveled 12 hours from Peoria, Ill., to join the demonstration.” It’s hard to imagine the Times taking such a claim at face value in the context of other political protests, or allowing such a self-serving claim to be the final word of an article. You wonder about the lack of follow-up: if these protesters sincerely “don’t have anything against Jews,” why are they traveling hours to call for America to cut off the arms supplies that the Jewish state is using to defend itself against the Iran-backed terrorists who want to wipe Israel off the map and kill all the Jews?
Writing in the Free Press, Peter Savodnik described the protest as an “orgy of hatred” and wrote, “The New York Times, like CNN and The Washington Post and most every major outlet, made a big point of how the demonstrators really, really just want a cease-fire. There was no mention of Jews or antisemitism.” It’s not actually accurate that the Times didn’t mention Jews, but the paper certainly was dismissive of the antisemitism concerns.
In Commentary, John Podhoretz wrote that the event “can only be described as a Hamas rally — complete with the desecrations of American statuary.”
I emailed Kim to ask about the Times story and didn’t immediately get a reply.
The Times article itself now is labeled “Published June 8, 2024” and “Updated June 10, 2024” and carries an “editor’s note.” It reads “Editor’s note: This article was updated on June 10 with a statement from the National Park Service.”
Sure enough, the article now includes this passage: “Later in the day, some protesters threw empty water bottles at an unarmed park ranger who stood by another vandalized statue in the square, the National Park Service said in a statement on Monday. ‘Saturday’s permitted demonstration resulted in an assault of a park ranger, injuries to two US Park Police officers, and significant damage to the park resources,’ said Cynthia Hernandez, a spokeswoman for the agency.”
It’s unusual for the Times to handle an article this way, by going into it and adding new information two days after it was originally published. What’s not unusual, alas, but rather is all too typical, is for the Times falsely to depict anti-Israel activists in America as being more “peaceful,” and less hostile, than they really are.
Ira Stoll was managing editor of The Forward and North American editor of The Jerusalem Post. His media critique, a regular Algemeiner feature, can be found here.
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US State Department Revokes Visas of UK Punk Rap Act Bob Vylan Amid Outrage Over Duo’s Chants of ‘Death to the IDF’
Bob Vylan music duo performance at Glastonbury Festival (Source: FLIKR)
The US State Department has revoked the visas for the English punk rap duo Bob Vylan amid ongoing outrage over their weekend performance at the Glastonbury Festival, in which the pair chanted “Death to the IDF.”
The State Department’s decision to cancel their visas would preclude a planned fall concert tour of the US by the British rappers.
“The [US State Department] has revoked the US visas for the members of the Bob Vylan band in light of their hateful tirade at Glastonbury, including leading the crowd in death chants. Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau wrote on X/Twitter on Monday.
During a June 28 set at Glastonbury Festival, Bob Vylan’s Pascal Robinson-Foster ignited a firestorm by leading the crowd in chants of “Death, death, to the IDF,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces. He also complained about working for a “f—ing Zionist” during the set.
The video of the performance went viral, sparking outrage across the globe.
The BBC, which streamed the performance live, issued an on‑screen warning but continued its broadcast, prompting criticism by government officials for failing to cut the feed.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and festival organizers condemned the IDF chant as hate speech and incitement to violence. The Israeli Embassy in London denounced the language as “inflammatory and hateful.”
“Millions of people tuned in to enjoy Glastonbury this weekend across the BBC’s output but one performance within our livestreams included comments that were deeply offensive,” the BBC said in a statement following the event.
“These abhorrent chants, which included calls for the death of members of the Israeli Defense Forces … have no place in any civil society,” Leo Terrell, Chair of the US Department of Justice Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, declared Sunday in a statement posted on X.
Citing the act’s US tour plans, Terrell said his task force would be “reaching out to the U.S. Department of State on Monday to determine what measures are available to address the situation and to prevent the promotion of violent antisemitic rhetoric in the United States.”
British authorities, meanwhile, have launched a formal investigation into Bob Vylan’s controversial appearance at Glastonbury. Avon and Somerset Police confirmed they are reviewing footage and working with the Crown Prosecution Service to determine whether the performance constitutes a hate crime or incitement to violence.
United Talent Agency (UTA), one of the premier entertainment talent agencies, dropped the duo, claming “antisemitic sentiments expressed by the group were utterly unacceptable.”
The band defended their performance on social media as necessary protest, stating that “teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way that we make this world a better place.”
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Dem House Leader Hakeem Jeffries Urges Mamdani to ‘Aggressively Address’ Antisemitism in NYC if Elected Mayor
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
US House Democratic leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (NY) urged Democratic nominee for mayor of New York Zohran Mamdani to “aggressively address the rise in antisemitism” if he wins the general election in November.
“‘Globalizing the intifada’ by way of example is not an acceptable phrasing,” Jeffries said Sunday on ABC’s This Week. “He’s going to have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward.”
“With respect to the Jewish communities that I represent, I think our nominee is going to have to convince folks that he is prepared to aggressively address the rise in antisemitism in the city of New York, which has been an unacceptable development,” he added.
Jeffries’s comments come as Mamdani has been receiving an onslaught of criticism for defending the controversial phrase “globalize the intifada.”
Mamdani first defended the phrase during an appearance on the popular Bulwark Podcast. The progressive firebrand stated that he feels “less comfortable with the banning of certain words.” He invoked the US Holocaust Museum in his defense, saying that the museum used the word intifada “when translating the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising into Arabic, because it’s a word that means ‘struggle.’”
The Holocaust Museum repudiated Mamdani in a statement, calling his comments “offensive.”
Mamdani has continued to defend the slogan despite ongoing criticism, arguing that pro-Palestine advocates perceive it as a call for “universal human rights.”
Mamdani, the 33‑year‑old state assembly member and proud democratic socialist, defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other candidates in a lopsided first‑round win in the city’s Democratic primary for mayor, notching approximately 43.5 percent of first‑choice votes compared to Cuomo’s 36.4 percent.
The election results have alarmed members of the local Jewish community, who expressed deep concern over his past criticism of Israel and defense of antisemitic rhetoric.
“Mamdani’s election is the greatest existential threat to a metropolitan Jewish population since the election of the notorious antisemite Karl Lueger in Vienna,” Rabbi Marc Schneier, one of the most prominent Jewish leaders in New York City, said in a statement. “Jewish leaders must come together as a united force to prevent a mass Jewish Exodus from New York City.”
Some key Democratic leaders in New York, such as US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Gov. Kathy Hochul, have congratulated and complimented Mamdani, but have not yet issued an explicit endorsement. Each official has signaled interest in meeting with Mamdani prior to making a decision on a formal endorsement.
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Israel Eyes Ties With Syria and Lebanon After Iran War
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar attends a press conference with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (not pictured) in Berlin, Germany, June 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Christian Mang
Israel is interested in establishing formal diplomatic relations with long-standing adversaries Syria and Lebanon, but the status of the Golan Heights is non-negotiable, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday.
Israeli leaders argue that with its rival Iran weakened by this month’s 12-day war, other countries in the region have an opportunity to forge ties with Israel.
The Middle East has been upended by nearly two years of war in Gaza, during which Israel also carried out airstrikes and ground operations in Lebanon targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah, and by the overthrow of former Syrian leader and Iran ally Bashar al-Assad.
In 2020, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco became the first Arab states to establish ties with Israel since Jordan in 1994 and Egypt in 1979. The normalization agreements with Israel were deeply unpopular in the Arab world.
“We have an interest in adding countries such as Syria and Lebanon, our neighbors, to the circle of peace and normalization, while safeguarding Israel‘s essential and security interests,” Saar said at a press conference in Jerusalem.
“The Golan will remain part of the State of Israel,” he said.
Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 after capturing the territory from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War. While much of the international community regards the Golan as occupied Syrian land, US President Donald Trump recognized Israeli sovereignty over it during his first term in office.
Following Assad’s ousting, Israeli forces moved further into Syrian territory.
A senior Syrian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Syria would never give up the Golan Heights, describing it as an integral part of Syrian territory.
The official also said that normalization efforts with Israel must be part of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative and not carried out through a separate track.
A spokesperson for Syria‘s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The 2002 initiative proposed Arab normalization with Israel in exchange for its withdrawal from territories including the Golan Heights, the West Bank, and Gaza. It also called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Throughout the war in Gaza, regional power Saudi Arabia has repeatedly said that establishing ties with Israel was conditional on the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
Israel‘s Saar said it was “not constructive” for other states to condition normalization on Palestinian statehood.
“Our view is that a Palestinian state will threaten the security of the State of Israel,” he said.
In May, Reuters reported that Israel and Syria‘s new Islamist rulers had established direct contact and held face-to-face meetings aimed at de-escalating tensions and preventing renewed conflict along their shared border.
The same month, US President Donald Trump announced the US would lift sanctions on Syria and met Syria‘s new president, urging him to normalize ties with Israel.
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