AhlulBayt News Agency: Over 150 contributors to The New York Times have declared a boycott of the newspaper’s opinion section, citing what they describe as “clear bias” in its coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the war on Gaza.
According to Middle East Eye, the contributors have vowed to stop submitting their work, criticizing the Times’ editorial stance for favoring the Israeli narrative.
The signatories urged the newspaper to reassess its editorial approach and revise its style guide regarding Israel and Palestine. They also called on the United States to halt arms exports being used in the conflict.
In a letter addressed to the Times, the contributors wrote: “Until The New York Times takes responsibility for its biased coverage and commits to telling an honest, ethical story of the US-Israeli war on Gaza, any contribution to its Opinion section amounts to complicity in that neglect.”
They added, “Only by withholding our efforts can we effectively challenge the dominant power the Times wields to whitewash US and Israeli lies.”
Among the signatories are prominent activists, artists, and political figures such as Rima Hassan, Chelsea Manning, Rashida Tlaib, Sally Rooney, Elia Suleiman, Greta Thunberg, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Dave Zirin.
The letter further stated: “We owe it to Palestinian journalists and writers to refuse complicity with the Times and to demand an explanation for its failures, so it cannot continue justifying mass slaughter, torture, and displacement.”
Other notable signatories include Chris Hedges, Marc Lamont Hill, Noura Erakat, Vijay Prashad, Mariame Kaba, Robin D.G. Kelley, Mohammed El-Kurd, Susan Stryker, Jia Tolentino, Eve L. Ewing, Dean Spade, Nyle Fort, Susan Abulhawa, and Rashid Khalidi.
The contributors outlined three main demands: to review and correct anti-Palestinian bias in reporting, to adopt updated sourcing and quoting practices for balanced narratives, and to develop a revised style guide for covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
They also stressed the importance of barring journalists with prior service in the Israeli military from working at the paper, calling it a minimum requirement for professional neutrality.
The letter concluded by stating that since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, The New York Times has played a role in justifying and concealing war crimes, continuing its legacy as a platform for official Israeli and US narratives.
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