The New York Times newspaper. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
The president of the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) said The New York Times should fire one of its Melbourne-based reporters who downloaded private information from a WhatsApp group chat for Jewish professionals in Australia that was later used by pro-Palestinian activists to harass members of the group.
Jeremy Leibler, who is also a partner in the law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler, told The Guardian on Tuesday that Times reporter Natasha Frost should be sacked and described her actions as “a very egregious breach of trust that resulted in very, very serious harm and damage to many, many people.”
Founded in 1927, ZFA is the federal umbrella organization representing “all Zionist organizations and activity in Australia,” according to its website. It is also the Australian representative of the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and the World Zionist Organization.
Frost admitted to The Wall Street Journal recently that she shared with only one person data from a WhatsApp group chat for Jewish professionals and academics, including the contact information of members, their photographs, and social media accounts. Frost downloaded and shared 900 pages worth of content from the group chat and the individual she shared the information with disseminated the data without Frost’s permission, she claimed.
“Its subsequent dissemination and misuse happened entirely without my knowledge or consent,” the Melbourne-based journalist said in a statement shared by a Times spokesperson. “I was shocked by these events, which put me and many others at terrible risk. I deeply regret my decision, and I have no plans to comment further.”
Pro-Palestinian activists who obtained the personal information widely shared it online in February and used the data to harass participants of the group chat, which had roughly 600 members. Some group chat members received menacing phone calls and emails, as well as threats against children, were forced to move due to safety concerns, and had their place of business vandalized.
Leibler told The Guardian that members of the group chat also received death threats and one Jewish family was forced into hiding. He explained that most members who were doxxed did not want to talk publicly about what they experienced because of how it impacted their mental health, jobs, community involvement, and safety, The Guardian reported.
“For the system to work journalists, like lawyers, need to maintain those basic standards of integrity,” he said.
The New York Times said it has taken “appropriate action” against Frost following the incident. “It has been brought to our attention that a New York Times reporter inappropriately shared information with the subject of a story to assist the individual in a private matter, a clear violation of our ethics,” a spokesperson for the newspaper told The Wall Street Journal. “This was done without the knowledge or approval of the Times.”
Frost remains a staff member of The New York Times and continues to write the publication’s weekday newsletter, The Europe Morning Briefing.
The WhatsApp group chat at the center of the controversial was set up in Australia for Jewish creative professionals and academics to help them find support and solidarity following the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel.
Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, told the Australian Financial Review on Monday that the data leak was “shameful and despicable.” He said Australian Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus’ announcement in May about legislation to criminalize doxxing “couldn’t come quickly enough.”
“The leak directly caused immense emotional distress, led to loss of employment, death threats directed to people’s children, blacklists, and cancellations which persist today,” said Ryvchin. “It also sought to silence Jewish Australians through intimidation and harassment and therefore threatened our freedom to speak and engage in society.”
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