Ex-NY Times editor scolds paper for ignoring ‘Squad’ member dismissing claims of Hamas rapes as 'propaganda'
Ex-New York Times opinion editor Adam Rubenstein scolded his ex-employer for not adequately covering controversial remarks by Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y.
Former New York Times opinion editor Adam Rubenstein scolded his ex-employer for not adequately covering controversial remarks by Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., who said last year that claims Hamas raped women during the terror attacks of October 7 were "propaganda."
Bowman, a member of the far-left "Squad" who is facing a tough primary challenge in New York's 16th Congressional District, apologized this week for previously dismissing Hamas’ sexual violence against Israeli women. Rubenstein, a supporter of Israel who has been critical of the Gray Lady since his exit, took to X with a thread condemning Bowman and his "local paper."
"Yikes. Jamaal Bowman now admits he was a rape denier and apologizes," Rubenstein wrote.
"He's the Democrats' Todd Akin -- and I have to think, if he were a Republican who went around publicly and loudly denying rape, there would be unequivocal denunciations in the mainstream press," Rubenstein added.
Akin sparked an outcry in 2012 when he said the female body has ways to shut down pregnancies that occur during "legitimate rape." He was running for U.S. Senate in Missouri at the time, and the firestorm over his remarks contributed to his defeat by Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill.
"In fact, on a single day, look how many pieces the Times published on Akin's rape-denial comments," Rubenstein wrote to accompany an image of Times search results showing Akin’s comments were covered in seven different stories on Aug. 20, 2012.
Rubenstein then attempted a similar search of Bowman’s comments.
"I haven't found a single mention of Bowman's rape-denial comments in his local paper, the Times. His comments were made in November 2023. It's June 2024 and his election is next week," Rubenstein wrote to caption an image showing zero results for Bowman’s comment.
The Times did mention that Bowman had "cast doubt that Hamas committed sexual violence" in a June 3 article that was published months after his rhetoric initially sparked backlash. The article did not mention the "there's still no evidence" quote that Rubenstein searched for. Fox News Digital could not locate other mentions of Bowman’s comments in the Times’ archives.
The New York Times did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bowman called reports of Hamas terrorists raping Israeli women "propaganda" during a Nov. 17 rally with dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters in New York. The remark came just days after lawmakers viewed a nearly 45-minute video of the tragic Oct. 7 terror attacks on Israel.
"There was propaganda used in the beginning of the siege," Bowman said in a TikTok post discovered and reported by Politico. "There’s still no evidence of beheaded babies or raped women. But they still keep using that lie [for] propaganda."
THE NEW YORK TIMES REMAINS HAUNTED BY THE TOM COTTON OP-ED ALMOST 4 YEARS LATER
Bowman apologized for the remarks, according to Politico. He now faces Westchester County Executive George Latimer in one of the most expensive House primary races in U.S. history. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, another far-left "Squad" member, has condemned AIPAC for spending millions to oust Bowman.
"An unspoken secret in Congress is that much of the reflexive, blind, unconditional vote support for nearly any Israeli gov action isn’t from actual agreement. It’s from fear," she wrote on X on Wednesday, saying they lawmakers were afraid of AIPAC.
Fox News Digital’s Joe Schoffstall, Elizabeth Elkind and Nikolas Lanum contributed to this report.