About two dozen Jewish professionals who said they were misled and harassed by anti-Israel activists after a New York Times reporter leaked the contents of a private WhatsApp group are considering a lawsuit against the paper.
Jeremy Leibler, who heads the Zionist Federation of Australia and is also a partner at law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler, told Guardian Australia he was considering a class action on behalf of more than 25 people who were among the 600 members of the WhatsApp group. whose identities were made public.
“In light of the revelations that have now come to light and the serious impact that the remorse of Jewish creators has had on the employment and mental health of many people, all legal avenues are being explored,” Leibler told Guardian Australia.
Earlier this week, Leibler demanded that the Times fire Natasha Frost, the Melbourne-based reporter who admitted to leaking the contents of the WhatsApp group to a third party, although she denied knowing it would lead to defamation and bullying.
The Times said it took “appropriate action” against Frost, who remains employed by the paper.
When asked if Frost should lose her job, Leibler told Guardian Australia: “Yes, I think this is fundamentally a very serious breach of trust that resulted in very, very serious harm and damage to many, many people. “
“The confessions that have come out publicly for some of these people are what they are prepared to speak publicly, but we were acting on more than 25 people who were doxed.”
Law enforcement officials in Australia are investigating the alleged harassment, although Frost is not under investigation as she is not suspected of any criminal wrongdoing, according to Guardian Australia.
The Wall Street Journal last week revealed that the Times took disciplinary action against Frost, who gained access to the WhatsApp group last fall — just weeks after the Oct. 7 terror attacks by Hamas that left nearly 1,200 Israeli soldiers and civilians dead.
Frost was also working on a story about Antoinette Lattouf, an Australian journalist of Lebanese descent who was fired from her part-time radio post after social media posts that were highly critical of Israel came to light.
Lattouf’s hiring sparked outrage among Israel’s supporters – prompting some members of the WhatsApp group to mobilize as part of a campaign calling on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to remove him.
The Times published a story put together by Frost titled “Post on Gaza leads to riots on Australia’s public broadcaster”.
By the time the story was published, several members of the WhatsApp group said they had begun to be subjected to in-person and online harassment from anti-Israel sympathizers.
Jewish business owners reported that their shops were vandalized, while others said they received death threats.
“It has been noted 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 Times spokeswoman told the Journal last week. passed.
“This was done without the knowledge or approval of The Times.”
Frost also released a statement through a Times spokesman that read: “I shared this document with an individual.”
“Its subsequent dissemination and misuse occurred entirely without my knowledge or consent,” Frost said in the statement.
The journalist added that she was “shocked by these events, which put me and many others in terrible danger.”
“I am very sorry for my decision.”
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