Around two dozen Jewish professionals who said they were doxxed and harassed by anti-Israel activists after a New York Times journalist leaked contents of a private WhatsApp group are mulling a lawsuit against the newspaper.
Jeremy Leibler, who heads the Zionist Federation of Australia and is also a partner at the law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler, told Guardian Australia he was considering a class-action lawsuit on behalf of more than 25 people who were among the 600 WhatsApp group members whose identities were made public.
“In light of the revelations that have now emerged and the serious impact that the doxing of Jewish creatives has had on many people’s employment and mental health, 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 acknowledged leaking the contents of the WhatsApp group to a third party, though she denied knowing that it would lead to doxxing and harassment.
The Times said it took “appropriate action” against Frost, who remains employed by the newspaper.
When asked if Frost should lose her job, Leibler told Guardian Australia: “Yes, I think that this is fundamentally a very egregious breach of trust that resulted in very, very serious harm and damage to many, many people.”
“The stories that have come out publicly about some of these people are the ones that are prepared to speak publicly, but we were acting for more than 25 people that were doxed.”
Law enforcement officials in Australia are investigating the alleged harassment, though Frost is not under investigation since she is not suspected of any criminal offenses, 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 terrorist attacks by Hamas that left nearly 1,200 Israeli soldiers and civilians dead.
Frost was also working on a news story about Antoinette Lattouf, an Australian journalist of Lebanese descent who was removed from her part-time radio host position after social media posts that were highly critical of Israel came to light.
Lattouf’s hiring sparked outrage among supporters of Israel — prompting several of the WhatsApp group members to mobilize as part of a campaign urging the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to dump her.
The Times published a story co-bylined by Frost titled “A Post on Gaza Leads to Turmoil at Australia’s Public Broadcaster.”
At around the time the story was published, several members of the WhatsApp group said they were beginning to be subjected to both 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 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 Times spokeswoman told the Journal last week.
“This was done without the knowledge or approval of The Times.”
Frost also released a statement through a Times spokesperson which read: “I shared this document with one individual.”
“Its subsequent dissemination and misuse happened 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 at terrible risk.”
“I deeply regret my decision.”
