Kristof Humiliates Himself and Harvard With Israel Dog-Rape Libel
Key Points:
- Nicholas Kristof, a New York Times columnist, faced criticism for an unprepared Q&A session at Harvard Kennedy School, where he repeated unverified claims that Israel uses trained dogs to rape Palestinian prisoners, citing unclear human rights reports.
- The event, billed as a lecture, was seen as disorganized and controversial, with Kristof making self-contradictory statements and comparing Israel to Nazis, an analogy considered antisemitic under Harvard's adopted definition.
- Questions arose about Kristof's honorarium for the appearance, especially compared to a previous $35,000 payment to another controversial speaker, Ta-Nehisi Coates, with Harvard not disclosing Kristof's compensation.
- The New York Times editor distanced himself from Kristof's story, while the Times publicity department clarified this was a general stance on opinion columns, not a rebuttal of the specific allegations Kristof made.
- Kristof's allegations are part of a shareholder lawsuit against the New York Times Company, which includes claims of anti-Israel bias within the paper and a hostile response to internal complaints about this bias.