“Worst blood libel ever” – Israel blasts controversial NYT article which pushed false claims of systematic sexual abuse against Palestinians, including through the use of dogs.By World Israel News StaffIsrael’s Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry accused a Geneva-based human rights group cited in a controversial New York Times column of having ties to the Hamas terror organization, escalating Israeli pushback against Nicholas Kristof’s controversial article which falsely claimed that Israel has systematically used sexual violence against Palestinian Arabs.The ministry report, released Wednesday, focused on Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, one of the sources cited in Kristof’s column.The Israeli ministry said the group’s founder and chairman, Ramy Abdu, was previously the subject of an Israeli administrative order under counterterrorism legislation over his role in iPalestine, which Israel designated as a Hamas-affiliated terrorist organization.The order expired in 2022, according to Israeli reports on the ministry’s findings.Kristof’s column accused Israeli soldiers, prison guards, interrogators and even civilians of using sexual abuse as a weapon against Palestinians, including detainees.Israeli officials and Jewish groups denounced the article as a modern blood libel, while The New York Times defended the column as carefully reported and fact-checked.The Diaspora Ministry said Euro-Med presents itself as a regional human rights organization focused on the Middle East, North Africa and Europe, but that its activity is “overwhelmingly focused on the Palestinian arena and anti-Israel activity.”The ministry said Euro-Med does not merely document alleged abuses, but operates “as a multi-layered system” combining field documentation, legal framing, international lobbying, media distribution and activist training. It said the group’s findings have been used in international legal proceedings, including South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.Euro-Med says on its own website that Abdu is its founder and chairman, and describes itself as a Geneva-based human rights organization with regional offices and activity across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.The Israeli report highlighted past statements by Abdu, including a January 31, 2026 post in which he wrote: “Israel will continue to kill and displace Palestinians under any circumstances, even if they are defenseless. Regardless of promises, our people and their resistance must never lay down their arms. Never.”The ministry also cited a May 31, 2025 post in which Abdu wrote: “If October 7 is perceived as a justification for genocide and displacement, then by that same logic, what Israel has done, the siege on Gaza, control over lives, killing hundreds every year in cold blood, decades of occupation, and the expansion of settlements, justifies a million October 7ths.”The ministry said those statements, combined with Abdu’s previous connection to iPalestine, showed that the Times relied on a source whose leadership promotes or justifies narratives aligned with Hamas.Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli accused the newspaper of amplifying Palestinian disinformation.“It is regrettable to hear that The New York Times, which for years served as a symbol of quality journalism, falls victim time and again to the Palestinians’ wholesale lies,” Chikli said.“The Euro-Med organization, which the newspaper chose to cite, is headed by none other than a Hamas member and terrorist involved in the ‘Gaza Tribunal’ initiatives, which work to promote international pressure against Israel.”Avi Cohen-Scali, director general of the Diaspora Ministry, said the Times had given legitimacy to extremist claims.“The New York Times is providing a platform for the ideology of a murderous terrorist organization,” Cohen-Scali said. “The report reveals a method of operation that feeds lies, ideological agendas, and incitement against the State of Israel in an attempt to shape an anti-Israel and antisemitic narrative.”The ministry report said Euro-Med promotes allegations of “systematic sexual violence” by Israel and calls for Israel’s inclusion on a UN “blacklist.” It also said the group provided South Africa’s legal team at the ICJ with material supporting genocide allegations against Israel, including documentation on mass graves and alleged damage to Gaza’s health system.The report also pointed to Euro-Med’s projects aimed at media and public influence, including HuMedia, We Are Not Numbers and WikiRights. According to the ministry, WikiRights trains editors and promotes content initiatives on Wikipedia, including entries connected to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, such as “Gaza genocide” and “Nakba.” The ministry noted, however, that such entries are edited by a wide range of users and not only by Euro-Med-linked activists.The ministry also cited Richard Falk, a former UN special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories and chairman of Euro-Med’s board of trustees.It said Falk has argued that people under prolonged occupation have a right to resistance under international law, while also emphasizing that resistance is still bound by the laws of war and does not permit intentional attacks on civilians or atrocities.The New York Times has stood by Kristof’s article, despite widespread criticism.On Wednesday, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who was cited in Kristof’s piece, said that his statement to the Times was misrepresented.“Olmert told me he didn’t know much about sexual violence against Palestinians but was not surprised by the accounts I had heard,” Kristof wrote, claiming that Olmert said that he “definitely” believes accusations of sexual abuse by Israeli personnel against Palestinians. “There are war crimes committed every day in the territories.”In a statement, Olmert said that he did not confirm Kristof’s claims.“Mr. Kristof’s article includes claims of extraordinary gravity: that Israeli authorities have directed the rape of children, that dogs have been used as instruments of sexual assault, that systematic sexual torture is state policy. I did not validate these claims.”The Times has defended the piece, claiming that the article was fact-checked and based on corroborated accounts, while acknowledging that in many instances Kristof sought confirmation from family members and attorneys of those who made the accusations against Israel.The Israeli Foreign Ministry called the column “one of the worst blood libels ever to appear in the modern press,” according to reports.Critics also focused on one of the most graphic claims discussed in the public debate: an allegation involving the use of dogs in rape and sexual abuse.The post NYT used NGO with ties to Hamas to back anti-Israel blood libel appeared first on World Israel News.