Times of Israel Scrubs Another Pro-Genocide Blog, Blames ‘Malicious Imposter’
The Times of Israel was forced to nix another controversial blog post this week that called for the killing of all Palestinians. But in a surprising turn of events, it turns out the blog post was a “hoax” posted by a “malicious imposter.”
Here’s the article in question, which has been archived:
The article, first flagged by Talking Points Memo‘s Brendan James, described Palestinians as “worthless subhuman beasts and vermin,” and claimed Palestinians no right to land and “are not even human beings and thus have no right to even live at all.” Australian attorney Josh Bornstein was listed as the author.
After receiving backlash on social media, according to TPM, the article was scrubbed from the site and Bronstein’s author page was taken down. The Times of Israel called the article an “inappropriate/satire” piece:
We're looking into inappropriate/satire blog post that appeared briefly earlier today. Was removed immediately and is not endorsed by us.
— The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) April 9, 2015
Bornstein later denied having ever written for The Times of Israel:
@AboudDandachi @AAhronheim @wsscherk @TimesofIsrael so I gather from the hate filling my twitter feed. I am a secular atheist FFS.
— Josh Bornstein (@JoshBBornstein) April 9, 2015
@basketcase68 @MoonMetropolis @ASankin No. I didn't write that shit.
— Josh Bornstein (@JoshBBornstein) April 9, 2015
@boerneaj @AboudDandachi @AAhronheim @wsscherk @TimesofIsrael Not sure. Distracted by lots of hate in my feed about an article I didn't pen
— Josh Bornstein (@JoshBBornstein) April 9, 2015
@Soulphood No. Not my article. I would like an explanation for this from @TimesofIsrael.
— Josh Bornstein (@JoshBBornstein) April 9, 2015
@AboudDandachi @AAhronheim @wsscherk @TimesofIsrael
I have not written anything for the Times of Israel. Ever. WTF???
— Josh Bornstein (@JoshBBornstein) April 9, 2015
@honestlyAbroad @TimesofIsrael I suspect it's a hacker
— Josh Bornstein (@JoshBBornstein) April 9, 2015
I write about inequality, political economy, law, work & mental health.
— Josh Bornstein (@JoshBBornstein) April 9, 2015
Thanks to those who have offered support following a nasty, racist hoax blog that was published using my identity
http://t.co/JeiyZaglpW!
— Josh Bornstein (@JoshBBornstein) April 10, 2015
A collection of articles actually penned by me appears here:
http://t.co/Y5KsdCZD1S
— Josh Bornstein (@JoshBBornstein) April 10, 2015
He’s apparently been receiving some hate mail, too:
Gee thanks Mick. You have a good day too. pic.twitter.com/gPXLGHGz4b
— Josh Bornstein (@JoshBBornstein) April 9, 2015
Later, The Times of Israel posted an apology on their website, saying they were “breached in an elaborate manner by a malicious hoaxer who on Thursday posted a hateful and racist post.”
The website also said the imposter “establish[ed] his credibility” with them by submitting some of Bornstein’s previously-published articles that were “all on topic and perfectly reasonable.”
As TPM also notes, Jewish blogger Daniel Sieradski was apparently able to track down the elaborate plan to fool readers that was posted on 4chan: “These people believe I’m really a Jew.” Sieradski also noted that Bornstein had been targeted by white supremacists for his “support of open immigration policy and hate crimes legislation.” He had been called a “subversive Jewish parasite.”
The Times of Israel lists the following disclaimer at the top of each blog post: “This post has been contributed by a third party. The opinions, facts and any media content here are presented solely by the author, and The Times of Israel assumes no responsibility for them.”
But this isn’t the first time The Times of Israel has been the subject of scrutiny over a blog post. In August of last year, another controversial blog post on the site called for the genocide of people living in Gaza. The article’s author, Yochanan Gordon, was forced to apologize after the piece was removed from the site.
[h/t TPM / Brendan James]
[Image via screengrab]
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