WASHINGTON (JTA) — The New York Times apologized for allowing a writer who has attended pro-Palestinian rallies to co-author a story claiming that Jewish criticism of Israel has grown in the San Francisco region.
The Feb. 3 article, headlined "A Jewish Group Makes Waves, Locally and Abroad," covered tensions among Jews in the area. It focused particularly on Jewish Voice for Peace, which is noncommittal on whether Israel should become a binational state.
It quoted Jewish Voice for Peace leaders as saying that its membership has grown "significantly" since the 2009 Gaza War.
"After this article was published, editors learned that one of the two writers, Daniel Ming, had been active in pro-Palestinian rallies," said an editor’s note that was appended on Feb. 8. "Such involvement in a public cause related to The Times’s news coverage is at odds with the paper’s journalistic standards; if editors had known of Mr. Ming’s activities, he would not have been allowed to write the article."
It was not clear if Ming is a staffer or a stringer.