On July 22, the day the NY Times published Stephens’ article claiming, “Israel’s actions in Gaza do not constitute genocide because it tells civilians to flee before attacking,” images emerged from Gaza of funeral prayers for those killed. (Photo: Ali Jadallah/AA)
On July 22, The New York Times published an article titled, “No, Israel Is Not Committing Genocide in Gaza.” Its author, Bret Stephens, is known as one of the newspaper’s “conservative” columnists.
On the same day in Gaza
On the day the article was published, 80 more people were killed in Israel’s Gaza operation. Of these, 31 were massacred by Israeli soldiers’ gunfire while waiting for already scarce and inadequately delivered food aid. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that 15 of them, including 4 infants, died of starvation, though under the current conditions, it is morally correct to assume they were also killed.
Since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza by Israeli attacks has reached 60,000 as of July 22, 2025. Of these, 8,200 were killed after Israel broke the latest ceasefire. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some of his ministers have repeatedly stated that Gaza must be “cleansed” of Palestinians, with some even suggesting the use of nuclear bombs. In his article claiming there is “no genocidal intent,” Stephens offers callous justifications, such as Israel warning Palestinian civilians to “flee” before killing them, as if there were anywhere for them to go. He argues that civilian deaths are inevitable in any war.If the term “ethnic cleansing” were used instead of genocide, perhaps he would find another callous excuse for that as well?
Follow the Money, Find the Killer
It’s a classic trope of detective stories: follow the money, and you’ll find the killer.
Let’s follow Stephens.
A regular columnist for The New York Times since 2017, Stephens is also the editor-in-chief of SAPIR, a quarterly journal discussing the future of Judaism and Zionism, launched in April 2021.
A polished and celebrated journalist, Stephens moved to Israel at age 28 in 2002 and was appointed editor-in-chief of the right-wing Zionist Jerusalem Post. However, due to backlash from the newspaper’s staff over a non-Israeli citizen leading the paper, he returned to the U.S. in 2004. He began writing columns for The Wall Street Journal and appearing as a commentator on national TV channels. He was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for commentary and later served on the Pulitzer jury, helping decide who receives awards.
SAPIR and the Maimonides Fund
Let’s turn to SAPIR, the journal run by Stephens, the NY Times’ influential conservative columnist. Its tagline is, “A quarterly journal of ideas for a thriving Jewish future.” One article in its latest issue is titled “What Jews Can Learn from the Druze,” which piqued my interest, especially since it was written before the Druze resistance to Ahmad Shara’s regime in Syria began.
The journal’s primary supporter is the Maimonides Fund. The fund’s leadership includes Chanan Weissman, who served as the White House’s official liaison to the Jewish community under both Barack Obama and Joe Biden administrations. Established in 1995, the Maimonides Fund is named after Mousa bin Maimon, a prominent Spanish Sephardic Jewish scholar and religious figure (1135–1204), often referred to as the “Second Moses” in Jewish culture. The foundation’s tagline is “Interfaith Initiative,” with a mission to foster dialogue among the three Abrahamic faiths—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—through art, culture, and education.
Interfaith Dialogue and the Khalili Foundation
The “Interfaith Dialogue” slogan is familiar to the Turkish public. It was the international slogan of the late Islamist preacher and the leader of a global network Fethullah Gülen movement, which Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan referred to after the July 15, 2016, coup attempt, led by Gülenist military officers saying, “We were deceived. May God and the nation forgive us.”
Back to our topic. Alongside the Maimonides Fund, which supports Stephens’ Zionist journal SAPIR, there is another foundation established in the same year and presented as a sister organization: the Khalili Foundation. This appears to be the primary source of funding.
Its founder, Nasser D. Khalili, is a London-based, world-renowned art collector and wealthy expert in Islamic art. Born in Isfahan to an Iranian Jewish family, he became a British citizen and has served as a UNESCO Cultural Ambassador since 2012. King Charles awarded him the title of “Sir” for his services to the United Kingdom at a time when Iran is on the headlines. His knighted name is Sir David Khalili, with the “D” standing for David.
As an expert in Islamic art and culture, Sir David’s Khalili Foundation also promotes “interfaith dialogue” through art, culture, and education.The Khalili Foundation’s partners include Oxford and Cambridge universities, as well as SOAS University in London, where Khalili was educated.
How Did The NY Times Publish This Article?
Do the leaders of the Maimonides and Khalili foundations, who support the “conservative” NY Times columnist Stephens, believe they are fostering dialogue among Islam, Christianity, and Judaism while he downplays the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza?
Did NY Times Editor-in-Chief Joseph Kahn and Opinions Editor Kathleen Kingsbury feel the moral satisfaction of fulfilling their professional mission when they published Stephens’ unconscientious, heartless article, which skirts the edge of hate speech and disregards Palestinian lives for the sake of Israel’s interests?
