New York Times Editor Joseph Kahn’s Home Hit in Gaza War Backlash
The apartment building of New York Times Executive Editor Joseph Kahn was vandalized with red paint and anti-Israel graffiti, part of a series of attacks on the newspaper over its Gaza war coverage.
The Greenwich Village apartment building of New York Times Executive Editor Joseph Kahn was defaced with red paint and graffiti on August 29, 2025, in an apparent protest against the newspaper’s coverage of the Gaza war. The NYPD responded to a call at 43 Fifth Avenue, near East 11th Street, around 4:45 a.m., finding red paint splattered across the building’s steps, walls, sidewalk, and lamps. Scrawled in black marker on the pavement was the message, “Joe Kahn Lies Gaza Dies.” No suspects have been identified, and the investigation remains ongoing, with the Times cooperating with authorities. A spokesperson for the newspaper, Charlie Stadtlander, stated, “People are free to disagree with The New York Times’s reporting, but vandalism and targeting of individuals and their families crosses a line, and we will work with authorities to address it.”
This incident follows a pattern of attacks on the Times, including a July 2025 vandalism at its Times Square headquarters, where red paint and the message “NYT lies Gaza dies” were left on the facade. In March 2025, pro-Hamas activists targeted the Times’ Queens printing facility, wearing keffiyahs and carrying signs reading “Stop the presses. Free Palestine,” accusing the outlet of endorsing “genocide.” Critics argue these acts reflect a surge in antisemitism, misdirecting blame toward Israel and its defenders while ignoring Hamas’s role in Gaza’s suffering. The war, ignited by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack that killed 1,219 civilians and abducted over 250, including Ilan Weiss, whose body was recently recovered, has fuelled anti Israel narratives. Hamas’s use of civilian infrastructure and diversion of aid exacerbate the crisis, yet activists often ignore the terror groups actions against its own people and instead choose to focus on Israel’s defensive measures.
Kahn, 61, hails from a Boston family with ties to Israel advocacy through his father, Leo Kahn, a former board member of the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA). His residence, a historic Beaux Arts building once home to Marlon Brando and Julia Roberts, underscores the high-profile nature of the target. Critics contend that such vandalism, far from aiding Gazans, fuels division and distracts from Hamas’s accountability.