Israeli Ambassador Accuses New York Times of Fueling the ‘Dramatic Rise in Antisemitism’ With Dog Rape Story

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter lambasted The New York Times for publishing a story that claimed Israeli prison guards used trained dogs to rape Palestinian prisoners, with Leiter saying such articles are fueling a rise in attacks against American Jews.

Leiter skewered the Times and columnist Nicholas Kristof during an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday morning.

“We just saw last week, The New York Times, of all media outlets, release a fictitious, fantastical story about dogs raping men. The insanity of it all,” Leiter said. “If they think that they can release a story like this, which is the imagination of a journalist, and not have it not result in people getting injured, they’re making a huge mistake.”

He continued, “They’re contributing to this violence that we’re seeing on the streets and this dramatic rise in antisemitism, attacks on Jewish institutions around the country.”

Leiter also branded Kristof’s column a “blood libel.”

Kristof relayed the story of a prisoner who said he was stripped, blindfolded, and handcuffed by Israeli prison guards. Those guards then “summoned” a dog, which then “mounted” and “penetrated” the prisoner after some “encouragement from a handler in Hebrew,” Kristof wrote. 

The story was denounced by critics who argued Kristof’s claims about Israel were absurd and fact-free.

Kristof’s column was released the same week a report was released on the depraved sexual violence committed by Hamas during the October 7, 2023 terror attack. That report was based on thousands of photographs, hours of video, and hundreds of witness testimonials.

The Israeli government last week announced it planned on suing the Times over the column; one Israeli official called it “one of the most hideous and distorted lies ever published against the State of Israel.”

Watch above via CNN.

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