How credulous does the New York Times think we are?

That is the wrong question. The right one is “How credulous is the average NYT reader?”

The Times, which still suggests that Israel may have bombed that hospital everybody knows was damaged by a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket, re-hired a Nazi sympathizer to report on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, has now given us yet more evidence that they are bending over backward to give Hamas the benefit of the doubt in every respect.

NYT Keeps Digging: We Don't Accept Israel's Evidence in Hospital Blast

So much for the New York Times’ “editors’ note,” and so much for the First Rule of Holes.https://t.co/W3CXXjTmtv

— Ed Morrissey (@EdMorrissey) October 25, 2023

They are promoting the idea that a hostage video released by Hamas that criticizes Bibi Netanyahu may not have been, well, a hostage video.

The video shows 3 hostages blaming Netanyahu for their remaining hostages of Hamas:

🇵🇸🇮🇱 Israeli Hostages Held By Hamas Call Out Netanyahu (English Subtitles)

“Your position means that you want to kill us.” pic.twitter.com/Tx6NWvgTPy

— Censored Men (@CensoredMen) October 30, 2023

Fair enough. For all I know Hamas may have found 3 women among the hostages who are peace activists. Many of the people kidnapped, raped, tortured, and killed indeed were peace activists. None of the dead ones are anymore, and I sincerely doubt that many being held captive by Hamas are either. Although it’s likely that more than a few would support a cease-fire if it got them out of the clutches of murderous barbarians.

But hostage videos are…hostage videos. They are never credible, and as we have seen in the New York Times reporting more than once, they tend to put quite a spin on reports out of Gaza. The reporting on the explosion at the Gaza hospital is but one example. Hiring Soliman Hijji is another.

NEW: The New York Times has rehired a reporter who has a history of publicly praising Adolf Hitler.

Soliman Hijjy, a Palestinian reporter, has contributed 9 articles for the New York Times since the Israel-Hamas war began.

Back in 2018, Hijjy took to Facebook to voice his… pic.twitter.com/swz2lRN56q

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 20, 2023

Of Hijji the Times now says:

A Times spokesperson defended the outlet’s decision to rehire Hijjy.

“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,” the rep said.

…

“Mr. Hijjy followed those steps and has maintained high journalistic standards. He has delivered important and impartial work at great personal risk in Gaza during this conflict.”

Now we have the Times fronting for Hamas again regarding the hostage video:

“It was unclear if Hamas forced the women to make the video”.

New York Times.

SEEK HELP. https://t.co/GZxHoukO0y pic.twitter.com/5GKiecI1Zn

— David Shor (@DYShor) October 30, 2023

They had to throw in that line…we have no idea if the kidnappers made them make the video.

C’mon. It’s not like one of these women just happened to have a phone with internet access, asked another hostage to tape a statement, and then had it smuggled out by a friendly terrorist.

Of course they were forced to make the video. That is how kidnapping works.

The Times just can’t seem to get out of their Narrative-building mode. For decades the Times has been ashamed of Israel and bashed it, and they can’t give it up no matter what the provocation.

Newsflash, NYT: there is a reason why nobody trusts hostage videos. They are made by hostages who are being coerced. That is how hostage-taking works.