The Exposed Report
Months after the October 7th attack, NYT published a piece detailing systematic sexual violence done by Hamas during the attack on the kibbutz. The headline? Screams without words.
This article spread like wildfire. Major news outlets quoted, repeated, and shed light on the horrifying details of sexual violence at the hands of Hamas. There were 3 instances the article reported in detail.
One, was Gal Abdush, the “woman in the black dress”. The article claimed that she was sexually abused by Hamas fighters.
After the story came out, the family of Gal Abdush came forward and refuted the article. The family said that she was not sexually abused in any way and they have evidence. But that’s not all.
The family of Gal Abdush had no idea that the reporter would publish an article saying that she was a rape victim. The reporter had not informed them or made her intentions clear.
The story of the pregnant woman
One widespread allegation, viral on social media and news sites, talked about a pregnant woman whose womb was ripped open, killed, and the fetus stabbed to death.
Other allegations of sexual abuse included two sisters found dead together but apart from their family, and women found dead abused by inanimate objects.
The UN had sent investigators to verify the allegations and find evidence of the systematic rape reports. Here’s what they found.
“The mission team conducted a visit to kibbutz Be’eri and was able to determine that at least two allegations of sexual violence widely repeated in the media, were unfounded due to other new superseding information or inconsistency in the facts gathered. These included a highly publicized allegation of a pregnant woman whose womb had been reportedly ripped open before being killed, with her fetus stabbed while inside her. Other allegations including objects intentionally inserted into female genital organs, could not be verified by the mission team due in part to limited and low-quality imagery.”
Kibbutz spokesperson denies NYT’s reporting
An independent news outlet, The Intercept, sent two of their journalists to kibbutz Be’eri to further investigate and clarify the allegations made.
They found the names of the two sisters through Israel’s public list of victims who died at the kibbutz during the October 7th attack. Matching the description in the NYT article were Y. and N. Sharabi, ages 13 and 16.
The journalists had asked the kibbutz spokesperson Michal Paikin about the allegations, without mentioning any names. This is how Michal Paikin responded
“You’re talking about the Sharabi girls? No, they just — they were shot. I’m saying ‘just,’ but they were shot and were not subjected to sexual abuse.”
Families close to the Sharabi, like the Brisley family, stated that the sisters died with their mother. And that the details reported in the NYT article are not true.
Denied by NYT’s own fact-checkers
Reports on the NYT are usually published in audio form on their premier podcast called The Daily. This report was pulled from the podcast, after NYT fact-checkers found inconsistencies and a lack of solid evidence.
The woman behind the NYT article
Anat Schwartz was known as a freelance journalist hired to take on reports of sexual violence done by Hamas on October 7th. She would work with Jeffrey Gettleman and Adam Sella on the piece.
Adam Sella was her nephew while Jeffrey Gettleman is a NYT veteran. (The same Gettleman who claimed a reporter’s job is not to report on evidence but to “present information.”)
Independent news, like The Intercept, report issues of nepotism that led Schwartz and Sella to land a job they were underqualified for.
Supportive of the Gaza Genocide
Anat Schwartz used to spend her time liking genocidal posts on X (formerly known as Twitter). One such post was “turning Gaza into a slaughterhouse.” She also liked the now debunked “40 beheaded babies” post, and a post calling for a propaganda push to equate Hamas with ISIS.
Before working with the NYT , Schwartz had never published a single news report at any news outlet. She was active as a small-time filmmaker.
For context, every serious journalist dreams of having their piece published in the NYT. The news outlet has a rich history of winning the Pulitzer Prize for journalism. But to get there, most journalists will have to start at a small news publisher, paying their dues and working their way up.
But it gets better
Anat Schwartz was an IDF soldier, serving her time in an Air Force Intelligence unit.
The NYT’s credibility is arguably dead
The New York Times commented that they are sticking to their story and have evidence the allegations made are true. To this day, none such evidence is presented or found by independent UN investigators.
The widely discredited article is still live on their website. While Anat Schwartz is under investigation by the NYT.
