"Kahn Lies, Gaza Dies"... NYT Editor-in-Chief's Home Vandalized with Paint

After NYT Headquarters, Editor-in-Chief’s Home Also Targeted
Pro-Palestinian Groups Intensify Protests Against NYT
"Challenges Allowed, But Individuals Should Not Be Targeted"

An apartment where Joseph Kahn, the editor-in-chief of the influential American media outlet The New York Times (NYT), resides was vandalized with red paint and graffiti. According to Yonhap News on the 31st (local time), citing The Hill, a U.S. political news outlet, and CNN, "The apartment building and entrance near Greenwich Village in New York, where Joseph Kahn, the NYT editor-in-chief, lives, was vandalized with paint on the 29th." On the floor beneath the stairs of his home, the words "Kahn lies, Gaza dies" were written.

Joseph Kahn, the New York Times editorial director, had his apartment building and entrance near Greenwich Village in New York vandalized with paint on the 29th. The group "Writers Against the Gaza War" claimed responsibility.

Previously, the NYT headquarters building in Times Square, New York, was also damaged with red paint, and the message "NYT lies, Gaza dies" was left behind. The New York Times confirmed that this latest graffiti was directed at Editor-in-Chief Kahn. The NYT stated, "People have the right to challenge our reporting, but targeting individuals and their families and committing acts of vandalism crosses the line. We will work with authorities to address this issue."

The NYT has faced protests from pro-Palestinian groups regarding its coverage of the Gaza war, which began after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel in 2023. Shortly after the Gaza war began, some activists participating in pro-Palestinian demonstrations in New York occupied the lobby of the NYT building and were subsequently arrested. In January, a pro-Palestinian group attempted to run an advertisement in the NYT criticizing Israel, but the ad was ultimately canceled after the group was asked to change the term "genocide" to "war."

This latest act of vandalism appears to have been carried out as a protest against the NYT. CNN reported, "Activists often use this method to protest against politicians and newspapers over the war." The New York Police Department stated that the perpetrator responsible for the paint graffiti has not yet been apprehended.

Meanwhile, on the 1st, more than 200 media outlets from 50 countries around the world launched a joint action condemning attacks and killings of journalists by Israeli forces in Gaza and urging Israel to allow press coverage in Gaza. Following the guidelines of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), media outlets participated by airing a black screen for 30 seconds (broadcast), printing a blacked-out front page (newspapers), or displaying a black banner on their homepage (online media).

According to the IFJ, at least 210 journalists have lost their lives in the field since the Gaza war began. Israel has banned foreign media from reporting in Gaza, and Palestinian journalists working under contract with foreign media continue their reporting amid gunfire.

This campaign is also being held with the upcoming 80th United Nations General Assembly on September 9 in mind. RSF and other organizations stated, "We call for strong action from the international community and urge the United Nations Security Council to stop the crimes of the Israeli military against Palestinian journalists."