Foreign Ministry: 'NYT timed Hamas propaganda to undermine report on Hamas rapes'
Israel accuses the New York Times of publishing Hamas propaganda to undermine a 300-page report documenting Hamas's mass rapes on October 7, reflecting a deep moral decline in media integrity and the normalization of evil.
Isaiah 5:20
Direct Principle“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”
Why this passage
In its original context, Isaiah 5 pronounces a series of 'woes' against Judah's leaders and people who have inverted God's moral order. The prophet condemns those who deliberately reverse ethical categories—calling what God calls evil 'good' and what God calls good 'evil.' This is not ignorance but willful rebellion.
The principle is timeless: when human institutions, especially those entrusted with truth-telling, systematically invert moral reality, they incur divine judgment. The verse directly judges any act of propaganda that obscures or justifies atrocity.
Behold, the prophet Isaiah declared, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness" (Isaiah 5:20). This is the spirit of the age: when a major newspaper chooses to amplify the propaganda of those who commit mass rape rather than bear witness to the victims' suffering.
Such inversion of moral order is not merely a journalistic failure—it is a spiritual rebellion against the God who calls His people to "speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves" (Proverbs 31:8). The attempt to bury the testimony of raped women under a flood of Hamas lies is a direct assault on truth itself.
Today's Prayer
Pray for the victims of Hamas's sexual violence, that their testimony would not be silenced, and for the conviction of those in media who choose to propagate lies rather than defend the innocent.
Further Scripture
Additional passages that illuminate this event, each grounded in a distinct interpretive lens.
“Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”
Why this passage
Paul describes the downward spiral of human rebellion in Romans 1: those who reject God not only commit sin themselves but also 'give approval' to others who sin. This approval is a deeper stage of moral corruption—it is not merely doing evil but celebrating or enabling it in others.
The principle applies to any act of complicity: publishing propaganda that obscures atrocity is a form of giving approval to the perpetrators.
How it applies
The New York Times, by publishing Hamas propaganda to undermine the rape report, is not merely failing to report truth—it is giving approval to those who committed mass rape. This is the moral decline Paul describes: knowing that such acts are evil, yet choosing to aid the narrative of the evildoers rather than the victims.
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”
Why this passage
This proverb from Solomon's collection states a general moral principle: righteousness (justice, truth, integrity) brings honor and stability to a nation, while sin (injustice, lies, corruption) brings shame. It applies to both individuals and collective entities like media institutions.
The proverb does not require a specific prophecy—it is a wisdom observation about how moral choices affect the standing of peoples and institutions before God and history.
How it applies
When a major newspaper chooses to amplify Hamas propaganda over the testimony of rape victims, it is not acting righteously. Such a choice brings reproach upon the institution and upon the nation that tolerates it.
The attempt to undermine a 300-page report of mass rape is a sin that shames rather than exalts.
Related by Scripture
Other events we've interpreted through the same passage or hermeneutical lens.
Prof. Anne Bayefsky: 'Accountability needed for those who deny, invert Hamas rapes'
Moral DeclineShares Isaiah 5:20Russia disrupts mobile internet as Kremlin scales back Victory Day parade
Technology & SurveillanceShares Isaiah 5:20How child soldiers in Sudan become influencers on TikTok
Moral DeclineShares Isaiah 5:20North Korea ramps up executions over foreign media, says NGO
Persecution of ChristiansShares Isaiah 5:20US condemns Iran’s leadership role at UN nuclear conference as ‘beyond shameful’
One World Government / EconomyShares Isaiah 5:20
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Source: israelnationalnews— we link to the original for full context.