In the upper lefthand corner of The New York Times’ front page is the historic, famous and revered motto, “All the News That’s Fit to Print,” that was created by the paper’s publisher, Adolph S. Ochs in 1896.

The objective:  Ochs pledged to the public that the paper would be dedicated to the highest principles of responsible journalism and he wanted to separate The Times from the yellow journalism so prevalent at the time.

How his present successors have violated that ethic most recently by Political Columnist Nicholas Kristof, who practiced the “yellowist” of yellow journalism when in a piece May 11 he charged that there was “a pattern of widespread Israel sexual violence against men, women and even children…” by Israeli settlers, IDF soldiers and prison guards.

The column titled “The Silence that Meets the Rape of Palestinians” brought an avalanche of criticism, including charges of “blood libel” and threats of lawsuits from Israeli government officials.

Apparently, feeling the heat, on May 21, The Times took the very unusual step of publishing a rebuttal written by Kathleen Kingsbury, head of Times Opinion, and Kristof himself.

Before we get to the “explanation,” let’s review just some of what Kristof charged which I covered in a column May 18.

–-He wrote on May 11 that his column was based on “conversations” with 14 men and women –- all of 14 people –- who claimed to have been sexually abused.  Only a couple are named, and he accepts the charges because he talked to family members, lawyers, witnesses and “others.”  He does not........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)