Trained rape dogs? Really? Is any story about Israel too absurd to publish?

A New York Times columnist who specializes in maudlin first-person sob stories outdid himself last week. He published an article alleging that Israeli officials have trained dogs to rape Palestinian prisoners.

Crucially, the Times’ Nicholas Kristof, who has a long history of playing the dupe, offered nothing to substantiate the shocking allegations beyond the word of Palestinian activists and wartime propagandists.

Equally important, the Times’ news side has yet to cover or confirm Kristof’s story. Whatever standards may apply on the paper’s opinion desk, its newsroom has yet to see anything convincing enough to repeat the charges formally.

A more charitable soul might give Kristof and the Times the benefit of the doubt. But in the three years since the horrific Oct. 7 massacre of Israelis, we have watched in astonishment as the most absurd and outrageous allegations against Israel have wormed their way into Western print. We have been subjected to unbelievable and sometimes obviously false claims, parroted verbatim by journalists who are either the world’s most gullible or its most immoral people — or both.

There has not been a charge too stupid or too obviously implausible for Western newsrooms to repeat, so long as it is aimed squarely at Israel and its military.

Indeed, when it comes to coverage of the Middle East and lapping up allegations that should trip every nonsense detector, Kristof is no pioneer. His dog-rape charge might be the worst of the worst, but it is hardly a first.

Recall the rush by Western media to accuse Israel of bombing the Al-Ahli Hospital and killing hundreds.........

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