Former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman sharply criticized the New York Times on Sunday, accusing the paper of spreading misinformation about Israel while ignoring verified evidence of the suffering of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
“Last week the New York Times ran a photo of an emaciated child in Gaza to prove that Israel was starving children,” Friedman wrote on X. “It turned out the poor kid was emaciated because of a genetic disorder not for lack of food. His sibling, who was in the original photo and was of perfect height and weight, was intentionally cut out of the picture.”
Friedman noted that despite the New York Times having ample resources in Gaza, the photograph was presented as evidence of deliberate malnutrition by Israel—an accusation that proved to be false. “Notwithstanding its resources in Gaza, this was the best evidence the Times had of intentional malnutrition and it proved nothing because the entire accusation was false,” he said.
Friedman noted that the Times later issued a retraction, but did so quietly and on “a separate X account with virtually no followers.”
In contrast, Friedman highlighted recently released footage of Israeli hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski, held by Hamas in Gaza tunnels since October 2023. “The pictures are authentic and these two poor souls are truly emaciated and emotionally broken,” he wrote. “You won’t see them anywhere in the NY Times or other mainstream media.”
Friedman linked media bias to growing political hostility toward Israel. “People ask me how could 27 Democratic senators vote to cut off assistance to Israel, or how could the UK, France and Canada vote to recognize a Palestinian terror state? It all begins with skewed and manipulated information, intentionally designed to pour fuel on the fire of Jew-hatred.”
While singling out the New York Times, Friedman also criticized broader trends across the political spectrum: “The New York Times is not alone, although it has perhaps the most distinguished history of abandoning Jews in crisis. It’s a problem on the woke left and the woke right and we must fight it with all we’ve got!”