Israel demands NY Times fire editor who published antisemitic cartoon
Israel is demanding that the New York Times fire the editor who approved the publication of an antisemitic cartoon which generated an international outcry.
A controversial cartoon published on the last day of Passover featured a seemingly blind U.S. President Donald Trump wearing a kipah, and being led by a dog with the face of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and wearing a collar featuring a Star of David, April 25, 2019. Credit: Courtesy.
In the cartoon by Portuguese cartoonist Antonio Antunes Moreira published on Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is portrayed as a dog wearing a collar featuring a blue Star of David, guiding a “blind” President Donald Trump who is shown wearing a kippah (skullcap).
The New York Times on Sunday issued a second apology for the cartoon published in the Opinion pages of its international edition.
“We are deeply sorry for the publication of an antisemitic political cartoon last Thursday in the print edition of The New York Times that circulates outside of the United States, and we are committed to making sure nothing like this happens again,” the paper stated.
“Such imagery is always dangerous, and at a time when antisemitism is on the rise worldwide, it’s all the more unacceptable,” it continued.
The Times claimed that the decision to run the cartoon was made by a single editor “working without adequate oversight.” However, the paper failed to name the editor or say if the employee was being sanctioned in any way.
“We have investigated how this happened and learned that, because of a faulty process, a single editor working without adequate oversight downloaded the syndicated cartoon and made the decision to include it on the Opinion page. The matter remains under review, and we are evaluating our internal processes and training. We anticipate significant changes,” said the statement.
Responding to the apology, Israel’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon thanked the Times for the apology, but noted that “now comes the hard part.”
He demanded that the paper join the fight against antisemitism, which “is indeed on the rise,” as “all reasonable and moderate people everywhere should join this fight,” and further demanded that the Times fire the editor in question.
Israeli Minister Gilad Erdan likewise assailed the Times for publishing an “antisemitic cartoon, shocking and reminiscent of the Nazi propaganda during the Holocaust. Anyone who really fights racism and hatred of Jews should demand that the newspaper apologize and fire anyone responsible for publishing the Nazi-style cartoon.”
Others rejected the Times apology.
Texas Congressman Dan Crenshaw charged that “even if unintentional, the left has normalized antisemitism under the guise of criticizing US-Israel foreign policy. It is radicalizing people.”
“NYT was latest example along with their weak-at-best apology,” he added.
Former New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind tweeted ” Whoops?! You let a repugnant antisemitic cartoon “slip” through all your editorial layers and now you’re excuse is was provided by your syndicate?! Therefore what? NY Times your antisemitism is showing. You may want to obscure it just a little bit so you can get back to biz as usual.”
US Vice President Mike Pence condemned the paper saying that “we stand with Israel and we condemn antisemitism in ALL its forms, including NY Times political cartoons.”
