The Washington Post deleted a social media post that scolded the parents of a US hostage in Gaza for not publicly criticizing Israel’s “assault” in the region — with the paper admitting that the post was “unacceptable.”
“Omer Neutra has been missing since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. When his parents speak publicly, they don’t talk about Israel’s assault on Gaza that has killed over 38,000 Palestinians, according to local officials. Experts have warned of looming famine,” the Post wrote on X Friday morning.
The post linked to an interview by scribe Joanna Slater with Omer’s parents, Oma and Ronen Neutra, ahead of their speech on day three of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
The newspaper’s Friday post attracted a firestorm of criticism for scolding the Neutra family and for saying that Omer has “been missing” instead of stating that he has been kidnapped.
The newspaper took it down hours later.
A WaPo rep declined to comment but referred to the newspaper’s social media post in response to the uproar.
“A previous post referencing the below story was unacceptable and did not meet our editorial standards, and The Post has deleted it. The reporter of the story was not involved in crafting the tweet. We have taken the appropriate action regarding this incident,” the Post wrote on X.
The paper also wrote that it had deleted its previous post because it “mischaracterized the efforts of Neutra’s parents.”
Later Friday, however, the article itself still criticized the Neutras over a failure to discuss the “ferocity of Israel’s counterattack,” citing the casualty estimates from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
Omer, 22, grew up in Long Island, NY, and is a dual American-Israeli citizen serving in the Israel Defense Forces.
He is one of eight American hostages abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7 during its brutal terrorist attack.
A family friend of the Neutras, who asked not to be named, called the post “antisemitic and unAmerican” in an interview with the Post on Friday.
The source noted that even though the newspaper deleted the post, it still kept language claiming that Israel’s counterattack has “killed more than 38,000 Palestinians and left nearly 90,000 injured” — a number quoted by Gaza Health Ministry.
“What is going on at the Washington Post?” the source said. “We know that antisemitic voices at the Washington Post have won the day. The only thing they are sorry for is that their post on X was called out. They left their antisemitic content in their story.”
“Speaking up for hostages has been one of the few things that has been a point of agreement between the president, vice president and the congressional and Senate leaders,” the family friend added.
“The Neutras are advocates for a deal for the hostages,” the source said, noting that they want the conflict to end.
Others on X slammed the outlet, with American Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt writing: “Are you kidding me, @washingtonpost? You may have deleted the post, but the thoughtless characterization of Omer Neutra’s parents – who have spent the last 287 days not knowing the fate of their son after he was kidnapped by terrorists on Oct 7 – remains in your article.”
He continued: “And to add insult to injury, the article cites ‘local officials,’ aka the Gaza Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas – the terror organization that launched the barbaric 10/7 massacre that led to the ongoing war.”
Media analyst Rich Greenfield of LIghtShed Partners called for Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos to fire executive editor Matt Murray, as well as the reporter who wrote the article.
“The Washington Post must terminate executive editor @murraymatt and reporter @jslaternyc for enabling one of the most awful antisemitic headlines I have ever read,” he wrote.
This isn’t the first time the paper has come under scrutiny from Jewish groups for its reporting on the war in Gaza since the Hamas terror attack last fall.
Fox News reported that an antisemitism nonprofit called StopAntisemitism accused the paper of “aligning” itself with pro-terrorist groups since the October 7 attacks after it published a sympathetic article in April about individuals who’d lost their jobs for defending Hamas.
