Israeli Political Commentator Calls for $10B Lawsuit Against The New York Times Over “Disinformation Campaign”

By: Fern Sidman

Israeli political commentator Yaakov Bardugo has ignited a storm of debate in Israel after urging the government to file a $10 billion lawsuit against The New York Times, accusing the U.S. newspaper of deliberately manipulating global opinion against the Jewish state through the circulation of a “fake starvation image” from Gaza.

The remarks, delivered in Bardugo’s opening monologue on his Channel 14 evening broadcast, were cited by VIN News as emblematic of growing frustration in Israel over international media coverage of the ongoing conflict. Bardugo argued that the widely circulated image, which he said was not authentic, was weaponized to portray Israel as an aggressor deliberately inducing famine in Gaza.

According to the report at VIN News that appeared earlier this week, Bardugo minced no words in his televised address. “The State of Israel must sue the New York Times for $10 billion over that fake starvation image that reached tens of millions of viewers,” he declared. “This is how you engineer public perception.”

The commentator further argued that responsibility should not stop with the institution itself. He suggested that individual journalists and editors directly involved in publishing the photograph be held personally accountable, stating that the deliberate use of manipulated or contextless images is tantamount to a smear campaign against Israel.

VIN News reported that Bardugo also turned his criticism inward, chastising Israeli outlets such as Haaretz for reprinting the image without scrutiny and lambasting Channel 12 anchor Yonit Levi for her on-air commentary about a supposed “moral failure” in Israel’s wartime policy. “Yonit Levi speaks of a ‘moral failure’ — the real moral failure is that you’re still anchoring the news,” Bardugo charged.

The controversy highlights a broader issue long noted by Israeli officials and commentators: the international press’s tendency to frame narratives in ways that undermine Israel’s legitimacy. As the VIN News report observed, Bardugo’s intervention reflects a sentiment increasingly widespread in Israeli public discourse — that the world’s most influential news outlets have abandoned journalistic integrity in favor of an agenda hostile to Israel.

In particular, Bardugo’s attack on The New York Times strikes at a newspaper often accused in Israel of systemic bias. Over the years, Israeli officials, diplomats, and media watchdogs have documented repeated instances where the Times gave prominence to Palestinian claims without equal weight to Israeli evidence or context. Critics argue that this pattern fuels a distorted global conversation, where Israel is painted as a perpetual aggressor rather than a sovereign state defending its citizens against terrorism.

Bardugo’s remarks resonated on social media, with many Israelis echoing his anger. Some commentators suggested that a lawsuit, even if symbolic, could force accountability and send a message that Israel will no longer remain silent in the face of slanderous reporting.

Bardugo, 59, is no stranger to controversy. As the VIN News report detailed, he was born in Lod, served in the IDF’s Intelligence Directorate, and earned his law degree from Bar-Ilan University. A seasoned broadcaster and attorney, he hosts a nightly political program on Channel 14 and a daily radio show on Galey Israel. His career includes roles as CEO of Mifal HaPais, commentary for Army Radio, and a columnist position at Israel Hayom.

Known for his sharp, right-leaning analysis, Bardugo has cultivated a reputation as a relentless critic of both Israel’s political opposition and its media establishment. His latest call for legal action against The New York Times has further cemented his image as a fierce defender of Israel’s public standing against what he and others view as orchestrated international disinformation.

As VIN News reported, Bardugo’s statement comes amid mounting anger within Israel at how its military campaign in Gaza has been depicted abroad. While Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre — which saw the Iranian-backed Hamas terrorist organization brutally murder 1,200 Israelis and their abduction of 251 hostages who were dragged into Gaza — remains the war’s starting point, critics note that many foreign outlets devote disproportionate coverage to humanitarian suffering in Gaza while minimizing Hamas’s accountability for both starting the conflict and perpetuating it.

The use of questionable imagery, such as the alleged starvation photo highlighted by Bardugo, fuels what Israelis see as an intentional campaign to delegitimize their nation’s right to self-defense. Israel, for its part, has facilitated thousands of aid trucks into Gaza, even as Hamas has been accused of diverting supplies and creating the very shortages now exploited in international media coverage.

While the Israeli government has not yet commented on Bardugo’s proposal, the broadcaster’s call for a $10 billion lawsuit against The New York Times has tapped into a deeper vein of public anger. As the VIN News report noted, Israelis are increasingly unwilling to accept portrayals that cast their nation as the villain while obscuring Hamas’s terrorism and culpability.

Whether or not Bardugo’s suggested lawsuit ever materializes, his words have reignited a crucial debate: who controls the narrative of Israel’s war, and at what cost to truth and accountability? For Israel, the battle against misinformation in the global press may prove nearly as consequential as the battles fought on the ground.