AI-based study: 20% of opinion columns in PA’s official newspaper that mention Jews are antisemitic

By Nurit Yohanan

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18 November 2025, 11:22 am

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Nurit Yohanan is The Times of Israel's Palestinian and Arab world correspondent

Vehicles move through congested traffic along a main street in Ramallah in the West Bank on September 22, 2025. (John Wessels/AFP)

A new study by JPPI (Jewish People Policy Institute) uses artificial intelligence to examine more than 2,300 articles published in the Palestinian Authority’s official newspaper, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, between January 2022 and August 2025.

According to the institute, about 20% of the articles that mention Jews contain clear antisemitic content — including denial of the existence of a “Jewish people,” claims of Jewish control over the global economy and American elites, and comparisons between Israel and Nazism, the Crusaders, or other colonial entities.

The institute doesn’t provide examples supporting these findings, and adds that no significant change was found in the level of antisemitism before or after October 7, 2023.

The study also examines attitudes toward Hamas and the events of October 7 in opinion pieces across three time periods: before October 7, between October 7 and the first ceasefire on November 30, 2023, and after that ceasefire.

According to the research, in the overwhelming majority of opinion columns reviewed, Hamas is portrayed as a negative and illegitimate actor, associated with the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran.

In the period before October 7, 62% of articles about Hamas were classified as “very negative,” 21% as negative, and another 5% as “somewhat negative.” About 10% were defined as neutral. Overall, 82% of articles described Hamas as “illegitimate.” However, during the first weeks after October 7, there was a temporary moderation in attitudes toward Hamas: During this period no articles were classified as “very negative,” and only 22% were labeled “negative.” After that period, opinion pieces returned to sharply criticizing and condemning Hamas.

The institute doesn’t provide examples or explain the criteria used to distinguish between the categories.

Regarding the events of October 7 themselves, according to the study, coverage in opinion pieces was mostly negative: about 67% of the articles addressing October 7 presented it in a negative light — 39% were classified as “very negative,” 21% as “negative,” and another 7% as “somewhat negative.” A quarter of the articles (25%) were neutral, and only about 7% were positive.

However, most of the criticism did not focus on the horrific violence against Israelis on that day, but rather on the claim that the attack “provided a pretext” for Israel to expand its military operations.