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Sep 30, 2020 13 tweets 3 min read Read on X
Today marks 20 years since Tuvia Grossman, the bloodied "Palestinian," appeared all over the media, leading to the creation of HonestReporting.

On Sep 30, 2000, The @nytimes, @AP and others published a photo of a bloodied young man seen near a club-wielding Israeli policeman.
The caption read: “An Israeli policeman and a Palestinian on the Temple Mount.”

The pose suggested that the Israeli policeman was responsible for the injuries of the “Palestinian” man in the foreground.
In reality, the man was not a Palestinian Arab at all, but a Jewish American yeshiva student named Tuvia Grossman. Grossman had been pulled from a taxi in Jerusalem by an Arab mob and severely beaten.
Similarly, from the picture the policeman seems to be threatening. In reality, the Israeli policeman pictured, a Druze Israeli called Gideon Tzefadi, was actually standing over Grossman and *defending* him from the mob.
Seeing his son's picture in the @NYTimes, Alan Grossman sent the following letter to the newspaper: “…that Palestinian is actually my son, Tuvia Grossman, a Jewish student from Chicago. He, and two of his friends, were pulled from their taxicab while traveling in Jerusalem…“
“...by a mob of Palestinian Arabs, and were severely beaten and stabbed. That picture could not have been taken on the Temple Mount because there are no gas stations on the Temple Mount and certainly none with Hebrew lettering.“
In response, the New York Times published a half-hearted correction which identified Tuvia Grossman as “an American student in Israel” — not as a Jew who was beaten by Arabs.
Responding to public outrage at the original error and the inadequate correction, @NYTimes reprinted Tuvia Grossman’s picture — this time with the proper caption — along with a full article detailing his near-lynching at the hands of Palestinians rioters.
The first “correction” also noted that “Mr. Grossman was wounded” in “Jerusalem’s Old City” — although the beating actually occurred in the Arab neighborhood of Wadi al Joz, not in the Old City.
For years after, the media distortion had an ongoing, real-life effect as Arab groups adopted Grossman’s photo in their propaganda campaigns, cynically using a bloodied Jew as a symbol of the Palestinian struggle.
Among others, an official Egyptian government website used the photo on its photo gallery, and the Palestinian Information Center incorporated Grossman’s photo into its homepage banner.
WATCH: A decade later, HonestReporting reunited Grossman with his rescuer, Gidon Tzefadi:

honestreporting.com/exclusive-vide…
Do you believe that inaccurate and unfair media reporting can put people in danger?

Join us now and make a stand for media accuracy >>>
honestreporting.com/starthere/

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More from @HonestReporting

Aug 5
1/
Let’s talk about Zohran Mamdani – Democratic Socialist, BDS supporter, and NYC mayoral hopeful – and how @nytimes is running PR for him while gaslighting Jews with headlines like this. 👇
Small fact NYT skips?
60% of Jews say they’d feel less safe under Mamdani. Image
2/
The lies start early. NYT says BDS wants to “economically isolate” Israel.
What BDS leaders actually say: they want to end Israel as a Jewish state.
That’s not economic pressure. That’s eliminationism.
Also, are we meant to applaud Mamdani’s ignorance on apartheid? Image
3/
To back its case, NYT quotes… “Jews for Racial and Economic Justice” (JFREJ).
Cool name.
But after Hamas’s Oct 7 massacre, JFREJ rushed to condemn Israel – not Hamas – for “unimaginable” violence.
That’s their go-to Jewish voice. Image
Read 6 tweets
Aug 4
1/
Here’s @guardian claiming Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir prayed at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
He didn’t.

Let’s talk about the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site, which also houses Al-Aqsa, Islam’s third holiest.

A thread on media confusion – and misrepresentation. 🧵 https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/aug/03/israel-gaza-war-live-netanyahu-hostage-video-famine-latest-updates-news
2/
And here’s @latimes linking Ben-Gvir’s visit to the “contentious site” with the deaths of Gazans seeking aid.

For the record:
His visit was on Tisha B’Av – the Jewish day of mourning the destruction of the Temple. https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2025-08-03/israeli-minister-prays-at-flashpoint-holy-site-as-officials-report-27-aid-seekers-killed-in-gaza
@latimes 3/
Actually no, @IBTimesAU – the mosque is not what’s revered by Jews.
Jews revere the Temple Mount – the holiest site in Judaism – because it’s where the First and Second Temples once stood.
Al-Aqsa was built centuries later on top of those ruins.
Get it right. https://www.ibtimes.com.au/israel-pm-says-profound-shock-over-hostage-videos-1859954
Read 5 tweets
Jul 31
1/
This man – now a “moderate voice” on @FRANCE24 – once praised Hitler and said burning Jews “like Hitler did” would make him “extremely happy.”
Fady Hanona is now a refugee in France, appearing on TV to tell Israel to accept a ceasefire. https://www.france24.com/en/video/20250729-from-gaza-to-paris-former-france-24-fixer-evacuated-from-the-enclave-testifies
2/
Hanona wasn’t just some fringe voice.
He worked as a fixer for @nytimes, shaping coverage of Gaza.

After we exposed his hate-filled posts, the NYT cut ties.
But @FRANCE24? They hired him as a producer.
No problem, just add a disclaimer about his “militant rhetoric.” Image
@nytimes @FRANCE24 3/
Now France 24 says Hanona is a “voice of reason and moderation.”

This, from a man who wrote: “Give me a Palestinian soldier and a German weapon and I will make Europe crawl… Israel will submit.” Image
Read 4 tweets
Jul 28
1/
Hey @FRANCE24, your “explainer” on Palestine’s Long Road to Recognition is a masterclass in revisionist history.
You skipped key facts, whitewashed terror, and twisted the timeline.

Let’s set the record straight. 🧵 https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20250725-timeline-the-state-of-palestine-long-road-to-recognition
2/
🟦Israel accepted the 1947 UN partition.
🟦Five Arab armies invaded.
🟦Many Palestinians fled after promises of an easy Arab victory.

None of this made your timeline. Image
3/
You claim the Second Intifada was sparked by Sharon’s visit to the Temple Mount.
What you don’t say:
🟥Arafat planned it in advance.
🟥It involved hundreds of suicide bombings and shootings targeting civilians.

Again: nowhere in your “history.” Image
Read 4 tweets
Jul 24
🧵 1/
Jeremy Bowen’s latest “analysis” for @BBCNews is exactly what you’d expect: bias, omissions, and inflammatory framing dressed up as journalism.

Let’s break down how the BBC International Editor pushes his latest smears against Israel.
bbc.com/news/articles/…
2/
Bowen writes the ICJ “alleges [Israel] is committing genocide."
Wrong.
South Africa made the accusation. The court hasn’t ruled. There’s a difference between a legal claim and a legal judgment – and Bowen blurs that line.
Carelessness or deliberate? Image
3/
Bowen vaguely says a ceasefire is “looking more possible.”

Here’s what he doesn’t say:
Israel already accepted a ceasefire deal – making major concessions to bring the hostages home.
Hamas said no.
But facts like that ruin the narrative, don’t they? Image
Read 6 tweets
Jul 23
🧵Did you see the headlines?

- A church in the West Bank “set ablaze by settlers”
- Local church leaders pushed the claim
- Global diplomats echoed it
- @AP, @CBSNews, @Reuters and @AFP ran with it – no questions asked

But the truth about Taybeh tells a different story. Image
2/
Video obtained by @TPS_News_co_il told a different story.

Jewish teens were seen running toward a small brushfire near grazing land, carrying fire extinguishers and safety gear.

They weren’t starting the fire — they were trying to put it out tps.co.il/articles/burni…
@TPS_News_co_il 3/
But that didn’t stop the media from blaming Israeli extremists.

NBC even ran a full piece claiming it was part of a broader settler plan to drive Christians from the Holy Land.

All this before any real investigation of the facts on the ground. Image
Read 5 tweets

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