The Times of Israel apologized on Thursday night for publishing a “hoax” article submitted by a “malicious imposter” that called for the genocide of Palestinians.
The article, posted earlier that day on the site’s blogging platform, called for the “extermination” of Palestinian “cockroaches” and suggested performing grotesque medical experiments on survivors.
The site pulled the post after widespread confusion and outrage.
A further twist: The author bylined on the piece, lawyer Josh Bornstein, took to Twitter and denied having anything to do with the post or Times of Israel. (“I didn’t write that shit.”)
The Times of Israel later apologized to Bornstein and its readers, calling the account that posted the article a “hoax” that had slipped through its self-publishing blogging platform.
“We are dismayed that The Times of Israel fell victim to such a malicious and hateful hoax,” the apology said. “Needless to say, we are appalled that the Times of Israel’s blog platform was taken advantage of in this manner.”
The site said that Bornstein’s “malicious imposter” convinced Times of Israel it was Bornstein by first submitting copies of his other articles, “establishing his credibility” before surprising everyone with the racist screed on Thursday.
Jewish blogger Daniel Sieradski did some digging after the post appeared and found that a few weeks before the fake account showed up on Times of Israel, a post appeared on the website 4chan outlining a plan to dupe the Israeli site’s readers.
“Using a fake Jewish name, profile, and photo, I got myself a blog on The Times of Israel,” the post read. “These people believe I’m really a Jew.”
Sieradski also noted that Bornstein has been the target of online white supremacists “for his support of open immigration policy and hate crimes legislation.”
In August, the Times of Israel published an authentic pro-genocide post against Palestinians by Yochanan Gordon, titled “When Genocide is Permissible.”
The new evidence about white supremacists boasting they were going to do this clinches it: that’s who wrote this bogus crap. The fact that Bornstein had angered white supremacists clinches it even further.
No Jew, however right-wing, would quote fake Talmudic law. But white supremacists’ anti-semitism rests on claims that Jews deny anyone else’s humanity – and that’s what this piece purported to show from “Jewish law” (just as plots for world domination are “proved” with the Protocols).
By suggesting “medical experiments” on the victims, the piece further raised the insidious blood libel… which no one but an anti-Jewish propagandist would do.
That hoax blogger was really saying what Netanyahu thinks.
Not much of a prank. Just read the commentary, not the original article, but aside from the medical experiments part, why are people upset?
This is clearly the Netanyahu regime’s attitude towards Palestinians, both personal and political.
Heck, I know Reformed Jews in the US who feel this way and aren’t shy about saying so. MINUS THE MEDICAL EXPERIMENTS of course,and not all feel this way etc, but the post was hardly “A Modest Proposal”…
If the Israelis did not think Palestinians were subhuman they would not be kept in subhuman conditions. There is my “hoax” statement.
Again, I think this thread on false talmudic quotes is worth reading and informative.
http://jtf.org/forum/index.php?topic=48447.0
We can find genocidal thoughts expressed in the fanatical views in the name of the one true God in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. And in my view, dehumanizing attitudes toward Arabs reflect and may be projections of views of Nazi’s toward Jews and, frankly, of Christendom toward Jews for a heck of a long time. They disappoint my view of Judaism, which is American Secular/Reform.
It is notable that their ‘apology’ is that it was a ‘hoax blogger’ and not for the content of the blog.