NEW YORK –  A pro-Israel group has issued a report challenging the New York Times for falsely accusing Israel of ruling over Palestinian Arabs who are actually governed by the Palestinian Authority, and falsely inflating Palestinian population numbers.

    The new report, The New York Times Invents a New “Occupation,” analyzes the Times’ news coverage for the past six months to document the Times’ latest actions. The report has been published by Americans For A Safe Israel (AFSI), and copies are available free of charge from ilene@afsi.org.

    The report reveals that in recent weeks, the Times changed its standard description of the Palestinian Arabs in its news articles in two important ways. The new description:

    — Claims that “three million Palestinians live under Israeli military occupation,” when in fact 98% of them live under the rule of the Palestinian Authority.

    — Falsely inflates the Arab population of the territories from 2.7-million to 3 million.

    “These important changes in the Times’ editorial policy apparently are intended to benefit the Palestinian nationalist cause,” said AFSI national chairman Moshe Phillips. “Inventing a fake ‘Israeli occupation’ generates sympathy for the idea that they should be given a state. This kind of slanting of the news is a serious violation of journalistic ethics.”

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Established in 1970, Americans For A Safe Israel (AFSI) is one of the oldest and most influential pro-Israel organizations in the United States. Its advocacy and education campaigns serve as a potent counterweight to the rising tide of Arab propaganda. AFSI is not affiliated with any political party in the United States or Israel.

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