NY Times rejects ad accusing Israel of ‘genocide’; blasted for ‘sidestepping the truth’

The Quaker organization blasted the paper for its “outrageous attempt to sidestep the truth.”

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

The New York Times has enraged a potential advertiser by rejecting its ad calling Israel’s war against Hamas a “genocide.”

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), known colloquially as the Quakers, said on Monday that it had submitted a digital ad asking people to tell Congress to “stop arming Israel’s genocide in Gaza now.”

They said that a representative of the paper’s advertising department responded by suggesting they use the word “war” instead.

After they vetoed the suggestion, since it had “an entirely different meaning both colloquially and under international law,” they received an email stating that their ad could not be accepted.

AFSC General Secretary Joyce Ajlouny called the paper’s refusal “an outrageous attempt to sidestep the truth.”

She defended the “peace and social justice” organization’s wording by pointing out that groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have made the same charge against the Jewish state, as have “UN bodies,” and noting that the International Court of Justice is allowing a case to go forward against Israel on the subject.

These international organizations are well known for their anti-Israel bias, which the Quakers share.

Ajlouny also described NYT’s refusal as hypocritical, saying that the paper “regularly looks to several of these organizations as sources for its own reporting.”

She also accused the media in general of “choos[ing] silence over accountability.”

According to AFSC, the paper’s email had said in part, “Various international bodies, human rights organizations, and governments have differing views on the situation. In line with our commitment to factual accuracy and adherence to legal standards, we must ensure that all advertising content complies with these widely applied definitions.”

Israel and many of its allies have repeatedly pointed out that the IDF always warns Gazan civilians to move out of harm’s way before its forces enter areas to clear them of Hamas fighters as well as look for the 98 hostages left in captivity since October 7, 2023. Rather than indiscriminately killing people in a war zone, the IDF first sets up guarded, humanitarian corridors to facilitate civilians’ escape, thereby losing the element of surprise against its foes.

Israel has also allowed into Gaza hundreds of thousands of tons of food, fuel, shelter equipment and medical supplies over the last 15 months.

AFSC said that since they couldn’t use the wording they desired, they pulled the ad.