Lawfare Project spokesperson Jayne Zirkle said outrage over a controversial New York Times column accusing Israel of systemic sexual abuse against Palestinian detainees has sparked a growing boycott movement and a major protest outside the paper’s Manhattan headquarters.
Speaking Thursday on The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI, Zirkle accused the Times of publishing “Hamas propaganda” and deliberately attempting to overshadow a major report documenting Hamas’s sexual violence during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks.
“As many may have seen there was recently a report released — the October 7th sexual assault report — it revealed horrible atrocities more than we knew had even existed on October 7th,” Zirkle said. “There were grenades used in instances of sexual assault. I mean, just women and men completely brutalized, instances of gang rape, utterly horrific things.”
“Just hours before, The New York Times decided it would be appropriate to publish a piece talking about Israeli sexual assault against Palestinians and how the Israeli government is supposedly using sexual assault as policy,” she added. “It was complete Hamas propaganda — just utter lies.”
Hundreds of pro-Israel and Jewish demonstrators gathered outside The New York Times headquarters Thursday evening to protest the paper’s handling of the story. Protesters chanted, “New York Times, shame on you,” “We will not be silent,” and “New York Times, get it straight, stop the libels, stop the hate.” Demonstrators carried signs reading “Antizionism gets Jews killed” and “J’accuse” beside The New York Times logo, referencing the antisemitic Dreyfus affair in France. The rally, organized by End Jew Hatred, the Movement Against Antizionism, Stop Antizionism, and Hineni, concluded with protesters singing Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikvah.”
🚨A massive crowd gathered outside The New York Times, protesting the paper’s platforming of Islamist propaganda. pic.twitter.com/sMKbNVEPdq
— Jayne Zirkle (@JayneZirkle) May 14, 2026
The protest outside The New York Times headquarters was organized by End Jew Hatred, the Movement Against Antizionism, Stop Antizionism, and Hineni. Demonstrators condemned the paper over Nicholas Kristof’s column, which critics say relied on unreliable or Hamas-linked sources while promoting sensational and unsupported allegations against Israeli soldiers.
🚨WATCH: New York Times protesters chant “BANKRUPT the Times” outside HQ.
Americans REJECT Fake News! pic.twitter.com/RJGPZWMfa1
— Jayne Zirkle (@JayneZirkle) May 14, 2026
Among the most controversial claims in the column were allegations that Israeli forces used dogs to sexually assault Palestinian prisoners.
Host Ari Hoffman noted that Kristof “basically used Hamas sources as his sources, manufactured things out of thin air,” adding that critics online had “shredded him” over the claims.
Zirkle said the article reflected a broader crisis in American media.
“This isn’t just about Israel and the Jews,” she said. “It’s about how The New York Times is the enemy of the American people. Over the past decade, we have seen The New York Times become the paper of record for the progressive cause. It is progressive PR.”
Our Director of Communications and Outreach, @JayneZirkle, outside The New York Times calling out the paper for amplifying blood libels and dangerous anti-Israel propaganda. pic.twitter.com/2FHAoShVLl
— The Lawfare Project (@LawfareProject) May 15, 2026
She also argued that anti-Israel activism has increasingly merged with radical Islamist ideology in the United States. “We’re seeing these progressive youth merge with these radical Islamists,” she said. “We’re seeing it all over the streets of New York City — these pro-Hamas mobs. These two ideologies are becoming one.”
The interview came hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel was exploring legal action against the newspaper. “Today I instructed my legal advisers to consider the harshest legal action against The New York Times and Nicholas Kristof,” Netanyahu said Thursday. “They defamed the soldiers of Israel and perpetuated a blood libel about rape, trying to create a false symmetry between the genocidal terrorists of Hamas and Israel’s valiant soldiers.”
“Under my leadership, Israel will not be silent,” Netanyahu added. “We will fight these lies in the court of public opinion and in the court of law. Truth will prevail.”
Zirkle said accountability was necessary. “I definitely think that, you know, I’m not a lawyer myself, but I do hope that Israel demands accountability for that,” she said. “That is really what we’re doing tonight outside The New York Times.”
According to critics, the timing of Kristof’s column raised additional concerns because it was published just before the release of a Civil Commission report documenting sexual violence committed by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7 massacre.
Hoffman said the report had reportedly been shared with major media outlets, including The New York Times, under embargo before publication.
“So them releasing a story like this 24 hours before the embargo was lifted shows they were trying to distract from this,” Hoffman said during the interview. “I checked — The New York Times still hasn’t published about the report itself of all the sexual violence on October 7th, but they published this Hamas propaganda piece.”
Zirkle agreed, calling it “more October 7th denialism.”
“They do not want to allow the victims of October 7th to be victims,” she said. “It is utterly disgraceful.”
She also criticized the sourcing behind Kristof’s article, including its reliance on Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, a Geneva-based organization that has accused Israel of “systematic sexual violence.”
Critics, including NGO Monitor, have alleged that key Euro-Med figures have ties to Hamas.
“The more you dive into this article, the more ridiculous it gets,” Zirkle said. “The human rights monitor that they used to cite this crazy Israeli dog rape claim — the leadership has links to Hamas. This was nothing more than a Hamas propaganda piece.”
Zirkle said protesters were demanding a retraction and better journalistic standards. “We need better-trained journalists who are actually interested in producing the truth and covering the truth rather than producing this endless funnel of fake news and propaganda,” she said.
The New York Times has defended Kristof and the reporting. “There is no truth to this at all,” Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander said regarding rumors of a retraction. “Nicholas Kristof is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has reported on sexual violence for decades and is widely regarded as one of the world’s best on-the-ground reporters documenting and bearing witness to sexual abuse experienced by women and men in war and conflict zones.”
The newspaper also denied accusations that it intentionally timed publication of the column to overshadow the Civil Commission report. “The Times never passed on the Civil Commission report and wasn’t told about its completion or the timing of its release,” Stadtlander said. “Once the report was made public, we covered its findings. The commission’s work also had no bearing on Nicholas Kristof’s opinion column or its publication timing.”
Zirkle also discussed the broader mission of the Lawfare Project, which provides pro bono legal assistance to victims of terrorism and antisemitic discrimination. “The End Jew Hatred movement is the activism arm of the Lawfare Project,” she explained. “We have a lot of other protests planned around New York City to combat this radical sharia supremacy.”
