Protesters outside the U.S. Embassy in London Sunday carried signs that said “Rape by Dogs,” a reference to the allegation of severe abuse of Arab prisoners in Israeli prisons, including the ludicrous accusation that the IDF trains dogs to rape prisoners.

The allegations were made famous by a New York Times op-ed in May penned by Nicholas Kristof, in which he made the dog-rape accusation that was so flimsy it was never reported on the news side of The New York Times.

The column alleged a pattern of violent abuse of Arab prisoners, including rape, torture ,and sexual abuse, as well as the explosive and bizarre claim that the IDF trains dogs to rape detainees.

The piece ignited major backlash, and Israel’s Foreign Ministry slammed The New York Times for the column at the time.

The Foreign Ministry said the civil commission into Hamas’ systemic violence on and since Oct. 7 approached The New York Times about publishing its findings, but the paper of record said it wasn’t interested. Instead, the day before the commission’s report was released, the Times published Kristof’s column detailing the violence and sexual abuse allegedly inflicted by Israel on Arab prisoners while acknowledging there was no evidence that Israeli leaders ordered the abuse.

Instead, Kristof said, without evidence, that the system created a permission structure in which any kind of abuse is tolerated. For the piece, Kristof interviewed 14 men and women who gave searing accounts of torture at the hands of IDF soldiers, but Arabs have been known to lie to the media about Israel. A famous example is the fabricated Jenin massacre claim in April 2002.

“Months ago, the Civil Commission approached the New York Times with a report on Hamas’ systematic sexual violence on Oct. 7 and after,” the Foreign Ministry posted on X. “The New York Times said it was not interested.”

The ministry noted that the Times was alone among major outlets that did publish the report. For example, CNN and other international outlets ran the commission’s findings.

“Aware of the report and its release date, the night before its release the NYT ran a shameful attack on Israel, belittling Hamas’ sexual crimes. That tells you everything about the NYT’s agenda,” the ministry said.

In a separate post, the ministry called the allegations a “blood libel” and described them as an “inversion of reality.”

But the damage has already been done, with those who hate Israel primed to believe every accusation, no matter how incredible, and ready to use it against Israel at every opportunity.