Author Jack Engelhard has made public a private exchange of letters he had years ago with former New York Times editor Abe Rosenthal, framing it against what he views as the newspaper’s current stance toward Israel. Engelhard criticizes columnist Thomas Friedman and the paper’s decision to publish an opinion piece by Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas, arguing that the publication has grown increasingly critical of Israel and dismissive of its security concerns.

Engelhard recalls writing to Rosenthal out of frustration over media portrayals of Israel and the peace process. To his surprise, Rosenthal responded sympathetically, expressing shared concern about Israel’s leadership and the risks he believed were being downplayed. Rosenthal had previously acknowledged the newspaper’s failure to adequately highlight the destruction of European Jews during the Second World War and voiced deep regret over that history.

The letters reflect a shared anxiety that Israel was being pressured into dangerous concessions and that media narratives were distorting historical and political realities. Engelhard connects his personal history as a Jewish refugee from Europe to his fears that Jews could once again face displacement, even in Israel. He presents the correspondence as evidence that Rosenthal viewed Israel’s challenges differently from what Engelhard sees as the newspaper’s current editorial direction.