Sally Rooney and Michael Magee among over 300 writers boycotting The New York Times over Palestine coverage

Over 300 writers and public figures have signed an open letter pledging not to contribute to The New York Times Opinion section until the publication changes its policies regarding Palestine.

The letter, titled "Genocide is not a matter of opinion," claims the Times has "obfuscated, justified and outright denied" Israel's war crimes against Palestinians.

"Only by withholding our labor can we mount an effective challenge to the hegemonic authority that the Times has long used to launder the U.S. and Israel’s lies," the letter reads.

"The Times’ opinion section is nothing without its contributors, and it is our responsibility to delegitimize and decenter the Times as the 'paper of record.'"

The letter called on The New York Times to "conduct a review of anti-Palestinian bias" and introduce new editorial standards for coverage of Palestine.

Such standards include barring former members of the Israeli military from reporting on Palestine and ending the practice of printing information acquired by journalists embedded with the Israeli military.

Signatories also demanded the Times retract a December 2023 exposé titled "Screams Without Words," which included unproven claims of weaponised sexual assault against Israeli women during the October 7 attack.

"Screams Without Words" relied heavily on the witness testimony of one unnamed Israeli special forces paramedic and a spokesperson for the kibbutz where the article alleged the assaults took place publicly denied claims made in the article.

It has been widely criticised for its lack of forensic evidence as well as the contributions of openly pro-Israel reporters.

The letter also urged The New York Times to publish an editorial calling for "the end of American weapons transfers to Israel."

"These demands are neither impossible nor unreasonable," the letter read, citing changes to the Times style guide during the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and the Times' public apology for unsound reporting relating to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.

"We owe it to the journalists and writers of Palestine to refuse complicity with the Times, and to demand that the paper account for its failures, such that it can never again manufacture consent for mass slaughter, torture, and displacement."

Around 150 previous contributors to The New York Times are among the signatories, as well as Irish writers Sally Rooney, Michael Magee and Dan Sheehan.

Activist Greta Thunberg, poet Rupi Kaur, whistleblower Chelsea Manning, Palestinian-born MEP Rima Hassan, Palestinian-American politician Rashida Tlaib, Palestinian writer Mosab Abu Toha and political sportswriter Dave Zirin (who spoke in Dublin last month) also signed the letter.

Abu Toha posted about the letter on Instagram.

"I think one more demand should be that the NYT refrain from hiring people who served in the Israeli occupation forces or have immediate family members who are serving in these forces that have been committing acts of terrorism and war crimes," said Abu Toha in the caption.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Mosab Abu Toha (@mosab_abutoha)

Various musicians were also listed as signatories, including American rapper Saul Williams, Palestinian DJ Sama Abdulhadi, American lyricist Aja Monet, American-Lebanese singer Hamed Sinno, American singer Stella Rose Cooper and Lebanese singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan.

Williams, Monet and Hamdan previously pledged to remove their music from streaming services in Israel as part of the No Music For Genocide movement, alongside KNEECAP, Fontaines D.C., Björk, Paramore, Lorde, Clairo, Wolf Alice and more.

The letter invited any "writers of conscience" who have previously contributed to, been invited to contribute to or been quoted or covered in The New York Times to add their names to the list on the Boycott, Divest, Unsubscribe website.

At the time of writing, The New York Times has yet to publicly respond to the letter.