Israeli Envoy to US Accuses NYT Editors of Modern Blood Libel
Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter accused The New York Times editors of a modern blood libel and laying groundwork for genocide during an address to Chabad emissaries in New Jersey.
Addressing thousands of Chabad emissaries in New Jersey, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter launched a scathing attack on The New York Times, accusing its editors of promoting a "blood libel" against the Jewish state and laying the groundwork for a new genocide. Leiter revealed details of a tense meeting he held with 21 editors of the prominent newspaper, during which they accused Israel of committing genocide and starving the population of Gaza. Drawing historical parallels, the ambassador compared their conduct to the antisemitic incitement that preceded the Holocaust.
Confronting the Editorial Board
Describing the hostile encounter, Leiter said he felt as though he were facing a jury, a judge, and a firing squad simultaneously as 15 editors in the room and six more on screen confronted him with severe allegations. He recounted presenting concrete data to counter their claims, detailing the volume of humanitarian aid entering the Strip, the measures taken to protect civilian lives, and expert assessments regarding the low ratio of civilian casualties in modern urban warfare. According to Leiter, when he confronted the editors over the publication of a misleading front-page photograph of a sick child that evoked Holocaust imagery while omitting crucial medical context, a senior editor dismissed his concerns as an overreaction, to which Leiter replied that it constituted a modern-day blood libel.
The Nature of Contemporary Antisemitism
Leiter emphasized that the core issue extends far beyond territorial disputes or regional policy, warning that the ultimate stake is the very existence of Israel. He noted that widespread anti-Israel protests on American campuses and city streets following the events of October 7 reflect a totalizing ambition to destroy the Jewish people. Citing the words of his son Neria, who was severely wounded in a terrorist attack on Highway 443 in September, the ambassador urged communities to remain vigilant, identify mutating forms of hatred, and abandon the illusion that historical Holocaust education alone will protect the Jewish people from future threats.
