Los Angeles Times reporter Adam Elmahrek, who dismissed reports that Hamas terrorists raped Israeli women during their Oct. 7 attack on the Jewish state, was met with a surprise outside of his office on Wednesday.
A billboard truck circled the Times office while displaying a social media post from Elmahrek that said there was "no evidence to support" the "Hamas 'rape' claim," photos obtained by the Washington Free Beacon show. That post was paired with images and videos of that evidence—including testimony from a survivor of Hamas's music festival attack who said he "can't forget how they laughed" as terrorists killed and raped women at the festival.
While Elmahrek has never covered Israel for the Times—he is best known for his coverage of California's pot industry—that hasn't stopped him from covering for Hamas in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack.
Elmahrek days after the attack insisted it was "disinformation" to point out that Hamas beheaded babies during its terrorist assault, despite reports from American and international outlets confirming the horror. Elmahrek went on to regurgitate Hamas propaganda when he suggested that Palestinian terrorists couldn't have been behind the Oct. 17 bombing of a Gaza Strip hospital. The U.S. director of national intelligence on Oct. 19 confirmed those terrorists were behind the bombing.
Elmahrek, who recently locked his Twitter account, has a long history of espousing anti-Israel rhetoric, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
A self-described "Palestinian citizen of Israel," Elmahrek has called Israel an "apartheid state" and argued on Oct. 11 that journalists "will have blood on [their] hands" should they report on beheaded babies and other "heinous allegations." In 2021, he signed an "open letter on U.S. media coverage" that accused Israel of operating a "regime of ethnic supremacy" and denounced journalists for asking Palestinians "whether they support violence or Hamas rockets."
Elmahrek has also labeled Gaza an "open-air prison" and argued that journalists should not call Israel a democracy "when it rules over millions of Palestinians without granting them any rights."
Elmahrek is still employed by the Times and published an article as recently as Dec. 10. He has at least one influential ally at the paper—Nika Soon-Shiong, daughter of billionaire Times owner and executive chairman Patrick Soon-Shiong. Nika in late October denounced Israel as an "apartheid state" and said journalists should be able to call it as much in their reporting.
Neither Elmahrek nor the Times returned requests for comment.