On May 11, Nicholas Kristof published a New York Times opinion column (“The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians”) alleging lurid claims of Israeli sexual assault of Palestinian prisoners. Analysts and watchdogs, including NGO Monitor, raised significant factual methodological issues, especially the author’s credulous reliance on a Hamas-linked NGO. In contrast to the detailed evidence of Euro-Med’s numerous terror group ties, Kristof refers to it only as an “advocacy group often critical of Israel.” In the follow-up response to critics, his main comment focuses narrowly and artificially on “its leadership’s political views or social media activity,” rather than their far more troubling terror links.

Relying primarily on anonymous and unfalsifiable testimonies, Kristof’s column lacked credibility from the beginning. And the subsequent attempts by Kristof and the Times to deflect the substantive criticism have only added to these concerns. The claims of “rigorous vetting” and thorough investigation by the Times are equally unverifiable. 

As members of the NGO Monitor International Advisory Board, we therefore call for a thorough and fully independent investigation of the sourcing, fact-checking and methodology employed by Kristof and the Times staff in the May 11 piece.

Such an investigation is necessary in the wake of  the “halo effect” that protects advocacy NGOs claiming human rights agendas from independent scrutiny. 

Signed by the following NGO Monitor International Advisory Board members:

Vivian Bercovici

Michal Cotler-Wunsh

Michael Danby

Alexander Downer

Andrew Fox

Linda Frum

Bonnie Glick

Tom Gross

David Harris

Richard Kemp

Fiamma Nirenstein

Judea Pearl

Natan Sharansky

Abraham Sofaer

Ruth Wisse