Just one week after a university graduation speaker lost their slot due to a social media post alleging Israel trains dogs to assault Palestinian inmates sexually, the claim appeared in The New York Times.

Columnist Nicholas Kristof featured the accusation in an op-ed highlighting extensive sexual mistreatment of Palestinian detainees in Israeli facilities.

Kristof recounts the story of an anonymous Gaza reporter detained in 2024, who claimed guards brought in a dog that penetrated him despite his efforts to stop it. He references multiple pro-Palestinian accounts from other detainees.

Israeli authorities deny all assertions in the piece, drawing sharp criticism from Jewish organizations labeling it a contemporary blood libel, though some stress the need to investigate prison abuse reports seriously. The New York Times supports the article, citing Kristof's thorough journalism and adherence to standards.

No specific responses have come from Israeli officials or the Times regarding the dog assault allegation, and neither the paper nor Kristof replied to Jewish Telegraphic Agency inquiries. However, a dog training authority deems the story implausible at best.

James Crosby, former police lieutenant and expert on canine aggression linked to Harvard's Canine Brain Project, stated to JTA that successfully training a dog for sexual assault is highly unlikely.

While dogs can learn motions resembling sexual activity, Crosby expresses strong doubt about the key element in Kristof's narrative.

You might teach a dog to jump and thrust hips, but that does not equate to true sexual conduct in canines, Crosby explained. Actual penetration would prove far more challenging.

Israeli rights organizations have independently reported sexual violence in detention centers and the deployment of dogs for intimidation and attacks on Palestinian prisoners.

Kristof Stands by Assertions in Divisive New York Times Piece

Kristof upholds the notion of dogs being used alongside sexual abuse, posting on social media, To those denying canine rape despite numerous Palestinian testimonies, note that at least three medical journals cover rectal trauma in people from dog penetration. Sigh.

Medical databases like PubMed reveal rare cases of human injuries from dog penetration, mostly involving humans coercing dogs, except for a 2019 Uruguayan report on a 6-year-old girl harmed by the family pet.

Crosby questions if dogs can be conditioned for erections on cue but refrains from declaring human-directed dog rape utterly impossible.

I'm not ruling it out, as a retired officer familiar with deadly dog incidents; twisted individuals exist who defy expectations, Crosby noted. Human depravity knows no bounds.

Regardless, the dog assault narrative has surged as an anti-Israel charge lately.

The claim simmered for almost two years but exploded recently, per Travis Hawley, a Jewish open-source intelligence analyst contracting for U.S. Homeland Security and tied to Rutgers' Network Contagion Research Institute.

Hawley tracked the allegation's social media trail after Kristof's piece and shared it with JTA.

It surfaced briefly in 2024 from an Al Jazeera Arabic post quoting a Hamas Gaza Health Ministry official on dogs performing vile acts on detainees, gaining little notice until English versions added rape terminology.

Accounts like Suppressed News amplified it, followed by TrackAIPAC, journalist Ryan Grim, and Briahna Joy Gray, ex-Bernie Sanders aide noted for anti-Israel content.

Post-June 2024, it lingered quietly amid louder claims like deliberate Gaza starvation, which Israel also refuted as libelous.

March charges dropped against Sde Teiman guards accused of assaults revived the story, providing ignition.

Soon after, Geneva's Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, accused by Israel of Hamas ties, released a report endorsing the claim.

The group, often quoted by Israel critics with some verified overlaps but also baseless organ theft theories, claimed direct prisoner interviews.

Dog Assault Claims Proliferate Via NGOs and Anti-Israel Networks

Founder Ramy Abdu had pushed the allegation in 2024; now the NGO asserted firsthand accounts.

Days later, U.S.-based ex-UCLA researcher Shaiel Ben-Ephraim, a vocal anti-Israel voice, tweeted an unnamed Israeli source confirmed it, echoing his podcast remarks.

Despite credibility issues from past misconduct, Hawley sees Ben-Ephraim's post as key, lending Israeli endorsement to the narrative.

Pre-April, it was fringe; recent viral spikes mainstreamed it, Hawley said, without judging truth.

Eli Kowaz, ex-Israel Policy Forum analyst, independently echoed Hawley's timeline, deeming the claim baseless before Kristof.

Abuse claims merit probes, but dog rape lacks evidence, built on failed cases and podcasts, Kowaz wrote.

Ben-Ephraim's post spurred Rutgers engineer Ramy Elghandour's tweet blasting Israel, leading to his speech cancellation.

They commit genocide, run dog-training dungeons for prisoner assaults - embargo weapons minimum, he posted.

Kristof's column, reaching his vast readership on global crises, cited Euro-Med and Ben-Ephraim.

Hawley marveled at the leap to Times prestige.

Critics blame slick pro-Palestinian messaging.

Kristof sneaks Hamas-linked dog rape into opinion as journalism fail, tweeted Albert Aaron, canceling subscription.

Kristof cites Oct. 7 celebrants bent on Israel's ruin via lies; dogs didn't rape, said Haviv Rettig Gur.

Canine rape tropes tied to tyrants: Egypt under Arab Spring, Pinochet's Dog Lady, Nazi Barbie.

Rejecting implies Holocaust denial, tweeted Ziad Jilani against a doctor's anatomical dismissal.

Rabbi Natan Slifkin of Israel's Biblical Museum of Natural History counters female cases irrelevant to male prisoners in his essay.