The New York Times rehired Soliman Hijjy, a Gaza journalist who was previously known for praising Hitler.
The NY Times defended Hijjy and was rehired as a freelance videographer in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.
NY Times Journalist Receives Criticisms
In August 2022, the pro-Israel media watchdog HonestReporting shed light on Hijjy. His work was featured in the NY Times between 2018 and 2021.
As reported in the Jewish newspaper Algemeiner, Hijjy's name has resurfaced in The NY Times' coverage of the rise of Hamas' dreadful attack on Israel on October 7.
According to Fox News, Hijjy shared problematic posts about the recent Israel-Hamas war. He referred to the terrorist group Hamas' rocket fire toward Israel as the resistance.
"We reviewed problematic social media posts by Mr. Hijjy when they first came to light in 2022 and took a variety of actions to ensure he understood our concerns and could adhere to our standards if he wished to do freelance work for us in the future," a spokesperson for the Times told Fox News Digital.
The Times defended Hijjy and said he had maintained high journalistic standards and delivered important and impartial work at significant personal risk in Gaza during the conflict. Since October 12, Hijjy already had a byline and contributed to eight reports for The NY Times.
Hijjy's recent work includes the NY Times' coverage of the hospital strike in Gaza this week. The NY Times and many other organizations reported that the attack was an Israeli airstrike, citing Hamas officials' false claims.
Hijjy Praises Hitler
The standards of the NY Times were questioned, including what the NY Times' specific criteria Hijjy stood by and how he covered the Israel-Gaza conflict fairly when he praised Hitler in the past. The spokesperson declined to respond to the comments about their criteria for hiring Hijjy.
Israel's Ambassador said, "The @nytimes has just rehired a NAZI." The Ambassador told U.N. Gilad Erdan to think about it again.
"We all saw how the NY Times immediately parroted Hamas' lies regarding the al-Ahli hospital (which Hijjy contributed to) and still refuses to retract these fabrications," Erdan posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Erdan said that Hijjy was spreading Hamas propaganda. He criticized the NY Times for rehiring a Holocaust-praising terror supporter who actively stokes antisemitism. He also added that every Jew must understand that not reading or advertising in Hamas mouthpieces is an integral part of the right to self-defense.
Moreover, Hijjy praised Adolf Hitler in a 2012 Facebook post, explaining how great Hitler was and wrote in Arabic. In a 2018 Facebook post, Hijjy shared a photo of himself with a caption that stated that he sympathized with Hitler during the holocaust.
NY Times received a lot of criticism for hiring a Gaza 'Nazi' journalist and questioned its credibility. Russ Roberts, the president of Shalem College in Jerusalem, said it was a good day to cancel their subscription to the NY Times.
