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Soros, Omidyar, Ford Fund New York Times Reporter Tweeting About Israel’s Gaza ‘Massacre’
The New York Times newspaper. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
For coverage of the war in Gaza, the New York Times has turned to a reporter whose opinionated social media posts accuse Israel of a “massacre” and who is being funded with money from charities with anti-Israel track records.
“Gaza’s Medical Workers Face Detention and Death” was the headline over a recent New York Times news article. It’s the latest example of gullible New York Times coverage of Gaza health care challenges, a topic that has been a recurring problem for the newspaper. In October 2023, the Times published an “editors’ note” acknowledging that editors “should have taken more care” with coverage of an explosion near Al Ahli hospital. In February, I highlighted issues with the Times‘ coverage of Nasser hospital.
The new Times article includes this context paragraph: “Since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, many hospitals in Gaza have come under attack from the Israeli military, which has accused Hamas fighters of using them as bases. Hamas and Palestinian doctors have repeatedly denied that claim.”
Why would the Times take a he-said, she-said approach to this one, repeating those Hamas and Palestinian denials without informing readers that they are false?
Even the Times itself reported back in February, about Al-Shifa hospital, “Evidence examined by the New York Times suggests Hamas used the hospital for cover, stored weapons inside it, and maintained a hardened tunnel beneath the complex that was supplied with water, power, and air-conditioning.” A Jan. 2, 2024 Times article was headlined, “Hamas Used Gaza Hospital as a Command Center, US Intelligence Says.” That January article reported, “The complex was used by both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to command forces fighting against Israel, according to the intelligence.”
Instead of asking the Gaza doctors about the terrorists and kidnappers using the hospitals as cover, the Times conveyed the doctors’ complaints about Israel. It also conveyed the complaints of advocacy groups such as Amnesty International and Medical Aid for Palestinians whose anti-Israel bias has been extensively documented by NGO Monitor.
How’d this latest piece wind up in the newspaper? The byline, Anjana Sankar, isn’t a familiar name to longtime readers of Times coverage of Israel, Gaza, or foreign affairs. Her posts on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, are unusually opinionated for a Times reporter. A July 9 post featured photos of blood-spattered children with Sankar’s comment, “Unimaginable horror again in #Gaza as Israel strikes a school building sheltering displaced people. Israeli army says the incident is under review. Hamas calls for worldwide protests against the massacre. When will this end?????” A July 21 post said, “Biden has decided not to seek re-election. He will be remembered as one of the great American presidents, having beaten Donald Trump and paved the way for the first Black woman and first South Asian descendant to become a major party’s presidential nominee.”
Anjana Sankar. Photo: Screenshot
It turns out that Sankar was at the Times as part of a fellowship from the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF). That organization receives $250,000 a year from George and Alexander Soros’s Open Society Foundation, $100,000 a year from Pierre Omidyar’s Democracy Fund, and $200,000 a year from the Ford Foundation, according to the most recently available IWMF tax return. Open Society and Ford also back the Quincy Institute, Soros has backed anti-Zionist Peter Beinart’s publication Jewish Currents and efforts to cut off arms to Israel, and Omidyar’s The Intercept has been criticizing the New York Times for being too pro-Israel in its coverage of the Gaza war.
I asked the IWMF if there was designated funding for Sankar’s New York Times fellowship and if so, where it was from. All that the organization’s communications director Charlotte Fox would say is that the fellowship “is funded by a variety of sources, including individuals, foundations, media companies, and other corporations.”
I asked the New York Times about the reporter’s social media posts and about whether the fellowship allows the International Women’s Media Foundation to sell donors with an agenda access to the Times news columns. A Times spokeswoman replied, “Ms. Sankar’s two-month fellowship concluded last weekend.” Shortly thereafter, Sanker’s bio on X/Twitter changed; the words “currently with the New York Times” no longer appear.
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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Brooklyn Nets Select Israeli Basketball Players Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf in NBA Draft
The opening tip between the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards, at Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, Dec. 13, 2020. Photo: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
In a landmark night for Israeli basketball, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf were selected in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets, marking the first time two Israeli players have been drafted in the same year.
Saraf, a 19-year-old guard known for his explosive athleticism and creative playmaking, was taken with the 26th pick. A standout with Maccabi Rishon LeZion and a rising star on Israel’s youth national teams, Saraf gained international attention with his electrifying scoring and commanding court presence.
With the 27th pick, the Nets selected 7-foot center Danny Wolf out of the University of Michigan. Wolf, who holds dual US-Israeli citizenship and represented Israel at the U-20 level, brings a versatile skill set, including sharp passing, perimeter shooting, and a strong feel for the game. After his name was called, Wolf grew emotional in an on-air interview, crediting his family for helping him reach the moment.
“I have the two greatest brothers in the world; I have an unbelievable sister who I love,” Wolf said. “They all helped me get to where I am today, and they’re going to help me get to where I am going to go in this league.”
The historic double-pick adds to the growing wave of Israeli presence on the NBA stage, led by Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, who just completed a breakout 2024–25 season. After being traded to Portland last summer, Avdija thrived as a starter, averaging 16.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. In March alone, he posted 23.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game, including two triple-doubles.
“I don’t think I’ve played like this before … I knew I had it in me. But I’m not really thinking about it. I’m just playing. I’m just free,” Avdija told reporters in March
With Saraf and Wolf joining Avdija, Israel’s basketball pipeline has reached unprecedented visibility. Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the moment “a national celebration for sports and youth,” and Israeli sports commentators widely hailed the night as “historic.”
Both Saraf and Wolf are expected to suit up for the Nets’ Summer League team in July. As the two rookies begin their NBA journey, they join a growing generation of Israeli athletes proving that their game belongs on basketball’s biggest stage.
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Iran Denies Any Meeting With US Next Week, Foreign Minister Says
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool via REUTERS
Iran currently has no plan to meet with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday in an interview on state TV, contradicting US President Donald Trump’s statement that Washington planned to have talks with Iran next week.
The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran was assessing whether talks with the US were in its interest, following five previous rounds of negotiations that were cut short by Israel and the US attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The US and Israel said the strikes were meant to curb Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons, while Iran says its nuclear program is solely geared toward civilian use.
Araqchi said the damages to nuclear sites “were not little” and that relevant authorities were figuring out the new realities of Iran’s nuclear program, which he said would inform Iran’s future diplomatic stance.
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Ireland Becomes First European Nation to Advance Ban on Trade With Israeli Settlements
A pro-Hamas demonstration in Ireland led by nationalist party Sinn Fein. Photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Ireland has become the first European nation to push forward legislation banning trade with Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem — an effort officials say is meant “to address the horrifying situation” in the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, Irish Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris announced that the legislation has already been approved by the government and will now move to the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade for pre-legislative scrutiny.
“Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza,” Harris said during a press conference.
The Irish diplomat also told reporters he hopes the “real benefit” of the legislation will be to encourage other countries to follow suit, “because it is important that every country uses every lever at its disposal.”
Today Ireland becomes the first country in Europe to bring forward legislation to ban trade with the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza.
Every country must pull every lever at its disposal. pic.twitter.com/Z4RTjqntEY— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) June 24, 2025
Joining a growing number of EU member states aiming to curb Israel’s defensive campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Ireland’s decision comes after a 2024 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s presence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal.
The ICJ ruled that third countries must avoid trade or investment that supports “the illegal situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
Once implemented, the law will criminalize the importation of goods from Israeli settlements into Ireland, empowering customs officials to inspect, seize, and confiscate any such shipments.
“The situation in Palestine remains a matter of deep public concern,” Harris said. “I have made it consistently clear that this government will use all levers at its disposal to address the horrifying situation on the ground and to contribute to long-term efforts to achieve a sustainable peace on the basis of the two-state solution.”
“Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are illegal and threaten the viability of the two-state solution,” the Irish diplomat continued. “This is the longstanding position of the European Union and our international partners. Furthermore, this is the clear position under international law.”
Harris also urged the EU to comply with the ICJ’s ruling by taking a more decisive and “adequate response” regarding imports from Israeli settlements.
“This is an issue that I will continue to press at EU level, and I reiterated my call for concrete proposals from the European Commission at the Foreign Affairs Council this week,” he said.
Last week, Ireland and eight other EU member states — Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden — called on the European Commission to draft proposals for how EU countries can halt trade and imports with Israeli settlements, in line with obligations set out by the ICJ.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the latest move by European countries, calling it “shameful” and a misguided attempt to undermine Israel while it faces “existential” threats from Iran and its proxies, including Hamas.
“It is regrettable that even when Israel is fighting an existential threat which is in Europe’s vital interest — there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession,” the top Israeli diplomat said in a post on X.
It is regrettable that even when Israel fighting an existential threat which is in Europe vital interest – there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession.
Shameful! https://t.co/lxm9qm8sM1— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) June 19, 2025
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