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Pulitzer Prize Distracts From Systemic New York Times Bias
Pop, pop, pop. That’s not the sound of gunfire in Gaza, but the uncorking of champagne bottles in Times Square and the Jerusalem bureau of The New York Times, as the Gray Lady celebrates winning the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting for “its wide-ranging and revelatory coverage of Hamas’ lethal attack in southern Israel on October 7, Israel’s intelligence failures and the Israeli military’s sweeping, deadly response in Gaza.”
But is The New York Times a deserving winner, and is this Pulitzer Prize a ringing endorsement of the paper’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war during the past several months?
The Winning Articles
It’s no secret that The New York Times has been the subject of intense criticism from HonestReporting and other organizations for its coverage since October 7. There are clearly systemic problems in the newsroom when it comes to reporting on Israel. Nonetheless, it would be foolish to entirely dismiss the paper’s ability to produce high-quality journalism when dogma and personal agendas are left to the side. And given the enormous output of articles published since October 7, there were plenty of stories for editors to choose from when selecting what to send to the Pulitzer committee.
Most out of the seven selected articles did a professional job of investigating the events of October 7. Others, however, were problematic.
One, “Video Investigation: Visual Evidence Shows Israel Dropped 2,000-Pound Bombs Where It Ordered Gaza’s Civilians to Move for Safety,” claimed Israel’s air force used US-provided 2,000-pound bombs in Gaza, specifically a model that “is one of the most destructive munitions in Western military arsenals.”
According to the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, however, The New York Times based its analysis on the wrong bomb, a particular ordinance that explodes on impact with little penetration properties, while Ira Stoll expounded on the other biases in the piece.
Another story, “The War Turns Gaza Into a ‘Graveyard’ for Children,” was written by
Other stories in the package, while not problematic from a textual perspective, do include selected images provided by Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa for Reuters and Hatem Ali for Associated Press, both of whose photos were utilized by The New York Times after they knew they had infiltrated Israel on October 7, as exposed by HonestReporting. (More on that later.)
What Wasn’t Included
As interesting as what was included in The New York Times’ seven-article submission to the Pulitzer committee is what didn’t make the cut.
For example, the investigation into Hamas sexual violence and rape on October 7, “Screams Without Words,” did not feature in the Pulitzer package despite being the first mainstream media article to expose these atrocities to the wider world.
The article was subsequently attacked by anti-Israel media and activists who feared that it would promote a “pro-Israel” narrative, and give further justification for Israel’s military campaign to destroy Hamas.
New York Times staff also sought to delegitimize the article in leaked internal arguments, contributing to the rape denial spread by Hamas sympathizers.
Pulitzer Gives Legitimacy to Poor Journalism?
Seven stories don’t adequately sum up The New York Times’ overall reporting since October 7. The Pulitzer committee stated it had awarded the prize, in part, for coverage of the “Israeli military’s sweeping, deadly response in Gaza.”
As far as the general public is concerned, the paper is being rewarded, not for several submitted pieces, but for the breadth of its reporting.
And that reporting leaves a lot to be desired. A look through HonestReporting’s website and social media feeds over the past several months reveals no end of problems concerning New York Times coverage, including:
Israel Accused of Al-Ahli Hospital Strike
“Israeli Strike Kills Hundreds in Hospital, Palestinians Say,” blared The New York Times’ initial summary in the aftermath of what was shortly proven to be a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket strike on the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza.
The New York Times jumped at the opportunity to lay the blame at Israel’s door, including by parroting the claim in a subsequent headline that 500 people had died without even bothering to mention that Hamas controls the Palestinian Health Ministry.
#MeToo… unless you’re a Jew.
The media has been quick to accuse Israel of sin but “cannot independently verify” any of Hamas’ well-documented atrocities. That’s not journalism, it’s populism. It’s biased. And, it’s wrong. Your readers deserve better, @nytimes. pic.twitter.com/aA6LADJV12
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) December 29, 2023
Showcasing Gazan Photojournalists Who Infiltrated Israel on Oct. 7
Last November, HonestReporting exposed the presence inside Israel on October 7 of Gazan photojournalists who had illegally crossed the border with Hamas. In addition to those already mentioned above, the work of freelance photojournalist Yousef Masoud from inside Gaza throughout the Israel-Hamas war was featured in The New York Times, which submitted his photos to the prestigious George Polk Awards — a Pulitzer precursor that he won last February.
After more information emerged, including Masoud citing Hitler on a social media post, HonestReporting publicly called on the Pulitzer Board not to reward such behavior.
Ultimately, Masoud was not honored with a Pulitzer.
Rehiring a Pro-Hitler, Pro-Terror Freelancer
We were appalled when The New York Times rehired a freelancer previously exposed by HonestReporting for his pro-Hitler, pro-terrorist social media posts.
OUTRAGE: @nytimes has rehired Gazan freelance filmmaker Soliman Hijjy (also spelled Sulaiman Hejji) who praised Adolf Hitler on social media and later posted he was “in a state of harmony as Hitler was during the Holocaust.” pic.twitter.com/V0UmjQrmyX
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) October 20, 2023
Following a significant public outcry as a result of HonestReporting’s campaigning, Soliman Hijjy quietly disappeared from New York Times bylines, despite the paper’s attempts to defend his employment.
No Gold Standard
The New York Times should be recognized when it does what it aspires to and produces fair, balanced and professional stories. It should also be called out when it all too often deviates from those aspirations and descends into the anti-Israel bias that characterizes so much of its reporting.
The awarding of a Pulitzer Prize has effectively given the seal of approval for all of the paper’s Israel-Hamas war coverage — including all of those times that the Gray Lady has not lived up to appropriate standards. Bad behavior has been swept under the carpet.
Where The New York Times goes, other media follow, along with politicians and influencers. Appointing the Gray Lady’s coverage as the gold standard makes accountability even harder in an already febrile atmosphere.
The author is the Editorial Director of HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Pulitzer Prize Distracts From Systemic New York Times Bias first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Vancouver police raid a home linked to the director of Samidoun—which is now a terrorist entity in Canada
Vancouver police arrested and released one person at the home of Charlotte Kates, director of the terror group Samidoun, in a dramatic raid on Nov. 14. The raid was conducted […]
The post Vancouver police raid a home linked to the director of Samidoun—which is now a terrorist entity in Canada appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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Trump Won A Majority of Votes In Heavily-Jewish New York City Precincts, Election Data Claims
Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Forum River Center in Rome, Georgia, US, March 9, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer
President-elect Donald Trump won an overwhelming majority of the votes in New York City (NYC) precincts that were at least a quarter Jewish, according to a data analysis by the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), a prominent Washington DC-based political group.
RJC presented data on Friday affirming the notion that Trump won a higher proportion of the NYC Jewish vote than in previous elections, potentially signaling an ideological shift in the traditionally-liberal voting bloc. According to RJC data, Trump received the “overwhelming” majority of votes in precincts with a Jewish population of at least 25%.
Trump’s 2024 performance among Jews in NYC seems to mark a substantial improvement over the 2020 and 2016 elections, contests in which the president-elect struggled to make inroads among Jewish voters.
Voting data from the 2024 election also indicate that there was a significant shift among Jewish voters in Pennsylvania. President-elect Trump also enjoyed greater success in heavily-Jewish enclaves of deep-blue cities such as Chicago and Los Angeles, according to data compiled by the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners and the Los Angeles Times, respectively.
Trump’s increased success among Jewish voters in the Big Apple comes amid simmering anger over surging antisemitism across the country.
In the year following the Hamas slaughter of roughly 1200 people throughout southern Israel, college campuses have become embroiled in an unrelenting onslaught of protests opposing the Jewish state. Moreover, many Jews have expressed dissatisfaction with the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, suggesting that the president has not been a firm ally of the Jewish state.
Over the past year, NYC has been ravaged with raucous, often-violent anti-Israel demonstrations and an unrelenting spate of antisemitic hate crimes.
Columbia University, one of the most prestigious higher education institutions in the world, became a poster-child for the anti-Israel campus movement, erecting encampments and holding protests calling for the destruction of the Jewish state. Many NYC public schools came embroiled in scandal after teachers presented students with lesson plans that accused Israel of committing “apartheid” and “genocide” against the Palestinians.
Though most national Democrats continue to express support for Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas terrorists, some figures in the party have, over the past year, adopted a more adversarial posture toward the Jewish state, often citing the humanitarian situation in Gaza as a key reason.
High-profile Democrats such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA) have suggested that Israel has perpetrated a “genocide” against Palestinians in Hamas-ruled Gaza, where Israel has been waging a military campaign targeting terrorists since the Oct. 7 atrocities. Earlier this year, a group of dozens of Democratic lawmakers, including former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), sent a letter to US President Joe Biden, urging him to “reconsider” approving offensive arms shipments to Israel.
Over the course of his campaign, Trump repeatedly touted his support for the Jewish state during his singular term in office. While courting Jewish voters, Trump has boasted about his administration’s work in fostering the Abraham Accords, promising to resume efforts to strengthen them once he retains office in January.
Trump also recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a strategic region on Israel’s northern border previously controlled by Syria, and also moved the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, recognizing the city as the Jewish state’s capital.
The post Trump Won A Majority of Votes In Heavily-Jewish New York City Precincts, Election Data Claims first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Attempted Robbery of Jewish Man in Brooklyn Puts Orthodox Community on Edge
Screenshot of masked men who attempted to rob Jewish man in Crown Heights, Brooklyn on Thursday. Photo: Screenshot
The Jewish community in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York was the target of another attack on Thursday evening, as three men attempted to rob a Hasidic man after stalking him through the neighborhood.
Footage of the incident was shared on X/Twitter by Yaacov Behrman, liaison of Chabad Headquarters and founder of the Jewish Future Alliance (JFA) nonprofit. It shows the men, whose faces were concealed by hoods and ski masks, chasing the man into the street and through the neighborhood after attempting to accost him.
No arrests have been made.
“He doesn’t give in easily, and I don’t think they got anything,” Behrman tweeted. “The Jewish Future Alliance is deeply concerned not only about the increase in crime but also the fact that, once again, the perpetrators were wearing masks. We need to reinstate mask laws.”
The explosion of an antisemitic hate crime spree in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn has set the Orthodox Jewish community on edge in recent weeks.
Last Tuesday, two men beat a middle-aged Hasidic man after he refused to surrender his cell phone in compliance with what appears to have been an attempted robbery. According to multiple accounts, the assailants were two Black teenagers.
That incident was the third time in eight days that an Orthodox resident of Crown Heights was targeted for violence and humiliation. Before then, an African American male smacked a 13-year-old Jewish boy who was commuting to school on his bike in the heavily neighborhood, which is heavily Jewish, and less than a week earlier, an assailant slashed a visibly Jewish man in the face.
Most recently, a masked man was caught on video approaching a visibly Jewish father walking with his two sons and grabbing one of the children in broad daylight. He was unable to secure possession of the child, whose father fought back immediately and did not let go of his son. Police later identified the man as Stephan Stowe, 28 — a suspect gang member with an extensive criminal history which includes 33 prior arrests — and charged arrested him attempted kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child.
In each case, the suspect was allegedly a Black male, a pattern of conduct which continues to strain Black-Jewish relations across the Five Boroughs.
Black-on-Jewish crime is a social issue which has been studied before. In 2022, a report published by Americans Against Antisemitism (AAA) showed that Orthodox Jews were the minority group most victimized by hate crimes in New York City and that 69 percent of their assailants were African American. Seventy-seven percent of the incidents took place taking in predominantly Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Of all assaults that prompted criminal proceedings, just two resulted in convictions.
“We’ve never seen anything like this,” AAA founder and former New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D) told The Algemeiner. “Shouldn’t there be a plan for how we’re going to deal with it? What’s the answer? Education? We’ve been educating everybody forever for God’s sake, and things are just getting worse.”
The problem has become acute in recent years. In July 2023, for example, a 22-year-old Israeli Yeshiva student, who was identifiably Orthodox and visiting New York City for the summer holiday, was stabbed with a screwdriver by one of two men who attacked him after asking whether he was Jewish and had any money. The other punched him in the face. Earlier that year, 10- and 12-year-olds were attacked on Albany Avenue by four African American teens.
According to a report issued in August by New York state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, antisemitic incidents accounted for a striking 65 percent of all felony hate crimes in New York City last year. The report added that throughout the state, nearly 44 percent of all recorded hate crime incidents and 88 percent of religious-based hate crimes targeted Jewish victims.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post Attempted Robbery of Jewish Man in Brooklyn Puts Orthodox Community on Edge first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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