Pro-Israel demonstrators gathered outside the headquarters of The New York Times in New York City following the newspaper’s publication of a report detailing allegations of sexual abuse and mistreatment of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli custody.
Protesters accused the newspaper of spreading false and antisemitic narratives about Israeli soldiers, with some carrying Israeli flags and signs condemning the publication. The backlash came after the article cited testimonies from former detainees, lawyers and medical staff alleging serious abuse inside Israeli detention facilities.
The allegations have drawn international attention in recent months, particularly after reports emerged in Israeli media and court proceedings involving accusations against Israeli soldiers linked to abuse at detention sites including the Sde Teiman facility which has video of evidence of 5 soldiers raping a Palestinian detainee. Later the charges were dropped and those same soldiers were praised as heroes and hosted on Israeli tv channels.
Human rights organisations and UN officials have also previously raised concerns about the treatment of Palestinian prisoners held during the Gaza Genocide. Critics of the New York protest argued that accusations of antisemitism were being used to deflect attention from documented allegations that deserve independent investigation. Some activists and media observers have also raised concerns over what they describe as the selective use of antisemitism accusations to silence criticism of Israel, while pointing to inconsistencies in how social media platforms moderate political speech involving other countries and communities.
