Dermer slams NYT for saying Israel’s defense research usually focuses on killing
Israeli envoy to US says newspaper is best known for finding a way to ‘libel and demonize the Jewish state’; NY consul general highlights Iron Dome, which saves countless lives
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Israel’s Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer on Friday slammed the New York Times over an article about the Defense Ministry’s work during the coronavirus pandemic, saying that the newspaper was libeling and demonizing Israel by unfairly depicting the ministry’s research and development branch as being best-known for pioneering ways to kill people.
The article, about Israel’s dozens of teams, from a variety of backgrounds, all working toward defeating the coronavirus, was headlined “Israeli Army’s Idea Lab Aims at a New Target: Saving Lives,” and began: “The Israeli Defense Ministry’s research-and-development arm is best known for pioneering cutting-edge ways to kill people and blow things up, with stealth tanks and sniper drones among its more lethal recent projects. But its latest mission is lifesaving…”
“The @nytimes, which buried the Holocaust, is best known for pioneering ways to libel and demonize the Jewish State. Now it is doing the same,” wrote Dermer on Twitter, referring to criticism in the past that the newspaper, and others, failed to recognize and publicize the plight of European Jewry during World War II.
Last year, Dermer called the New York Times a “cesspool of hostility towards Israel” after it published a caricature that the paper has since acknowledged was anti-Semitic and for which it later apologized.
The @nytimes, which buried the Holocaust, Is best known for pioneering ways to libel and demonize the Jewish State. Now it is doing the same. https://t.co/S8tMGFzkRv
— Amb. Ron Dermer (@AmbDermer) May 8, 2020
Israel’s consul general in New York, Dani Dayan, also criticized Thursday’s article, drawing attention to the Iron Dome and David’s Sling missile defense systems, which were developed by the same teams profiled in the story.
“‘The Israeli Defense Ministry’s R&D arm is best known for pioneering cutting-edge ways to save innocent lives, with Iron Dome & David Sling among its more famous recent projects. Under the pandemic it continues to save lives.’ I edited it for you @nytimes. Now it’s fit to print,” Dayan tweeted, referencing the newspaper’s slogan.
The New York Times article highlights Israeli innovations in the fields of diagnostic testing, tracking technology and telemedicine. In addition, it takes a look at Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center, where Israel Aerospace Industries has adapted jet and helicopter cockpit controls for the storage and analysis of information on coronavirus patients.
The article focuses on the work done by the Directorate of Defense Research and Development, which is led by Gen. Danny Gold, who is best known as the innovator of the Iron Dome missile defense system.
“In Israel, if there is a mission that has to be done, it’s like a war,” Gold told the newspaper. “Everybody drops what they’re doing, tunes into the mission and works on the mission with a lot of energy and creativity.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday pledged $60 million (about NIS 210 million) at an international donors conference raising funds for the joint fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
“We must all work together on improving diagnostics, accelerating therapies and ultimately developing a vaccine,” he said in a prerecorded message to the virtual pledging event.
“I am confident that Israel’s leading research institutions, its world renowned scientists and our unique culture of innovation can enable us to play an important role in advancing solutions on all three fronts,” he said. “We hope to work with other countries to leverage our unique capabilities to find solutions for the benefit of all.”
The Times of Israel Community.