Israel's U.S. Ambassador: New York Times fuels anti-Jewish sentiment

Israel’s ambassador to the United States called The New York Times a source of hostility toward Jews on Sunday.

Yechiel Leiter made the remarks at the closing ceremony of Chabad’s Kinus Hashluchim in Edison, New Jersey. The annual event gathers thousands of Hasidic emissaries from around the world. Leiter compared current treatment of Jews to persecution in European ghettos 800 years ago.

He urged his audience to identify and confront those he described as enemies. Leiter said accusations of genocide against Israel prepare the ground for a future genocide against Jews. He invoked decades of demonization preceding Hitler to support this view.

The speech centered on a meeting Leiter held with 21 New York Times editors on November 10, 2025. Six editors joined remotely. Footage released by Yeshiva World News shows Leiter describing the session. He said the editors confronted him with allegations of genocide and starvation in Gaza. He characterized their approach as combining the roles of judge, jury and firing squad.

Leiter stated he outlined humanitarian supplies Israel allowed into Gaza. He detailed steps Israeli forces took to reduce civilian casualties, noting measures that placed troops at risk. About 45 minutes into the discussion, he said an editor suggested everyone could be wrong. Leiter challenged the idea that there was universal agreement that Israel was committing genocide.

He cited West Point urban warfare expert John Spencer and conservative British journalist Douglas Murray as examples of commentators who disputed those allegations. Israeli officials frequently refer to both men. They argue that civilian deaths relative to combatant deaths have been historically low.

Leiter also challenged the editors over a photograph of an emaciated baby boy published weeks before the meeting. The newspaper initially described the child as malnourished without mentioning his genetic diseases. A senior editor questioned whether he was making too much of the issue. Leiter rejected that characterization in favor of the term blood libel. He argued such coverage could cost lives by stripping Jews of legitimacy and rights.