Story perspectives

Netanyahu Sues NYT Over Op-Ed, Likely Loses

5/15/2026

Summary

Story summary

Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister Gideon Sa’ar ordered a defamation lawsuit after Netanyahu called Kristof’s New York Times op-ed “one of the most hideous lies”.
The New York Times said the article was fact-checked, based on 14 Palestinian interviews and corroborated.
First-Amendment scholars warned the suit would likely fail under the Sullivan standard, noting Israel’s foreign ministry claimed the piece relied on Hamas-linked sources to undermine an Israeli report.

History

Historical Context

The 1964 Supreme Court ruling in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, which vacated a $500,000 Alabama verdict and required public officials to prove actual malice, reshaped U.S. defamation law after a 1960 civil-rights ad sparked the case. Today Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister Gideon Sa’ar sue the New York Times over an op-ed, echoing that precedent.

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Story summary

Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister Gideon Sa’ar ordered a defamation lawsuit after Netanyahu called Kristof’s New York Times op-ed “one of the most hideous lies”.
The New York Times said the article was fact-checked, based on 14 Palestinian interviews and corroborated.
First-Amendment scholars warned the suit would likely fail under the Sullivan standard, noting Israel’s foreign ministry claimed the piece relied on Hamas-linked sources to undermine an Israeli report.

1 / 2