New York Times deletes 'antisemitic' cartoon as outraged readers demand apology
Newspaper met by torrent of anger over image depicting Israeli PM as a dog leading US president
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Your support makes all the difference.The New York Times has withdrawn a cartoon that contained "antisemitic tropes" after it prompted an outpouring of anger.
The image, which appeared in Thursday’s international edition, depicting Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a dog wearing a Star of David collar, leading a blind Donald Trump.
The US president has a Jewish skullcap on and is holding the dachshund’s lead.
Posters and cartoons published in Nazi Germany depicted Jews as controlling the US and allies.
Within 48 hours, the newspaper announced that an editors’ note would appear in tomorrow’s international edition admitting the drawing “was offensive, and it was an error in judgement to publish it”.
The paper’s Opinion account tweeted the wording of the editors’ note, saying the image “included antisemitic tropes”.
The cartoon was provided by The New York Times News Service and Syndicate, which has since deleted it, the note added.
The newspaper and the decision to use the drawing came in for a hail of attacks from commenters – Jewish and non-Jewish.
Social media users accused the newspaper of being “casually hateful” and of a “glaring act of racism”, and many demanded an apology.
One pointed out the drawing was reminiscent of an image in Lustige Blatter in 1940, a German magazine that was supportive of Nazi propaganda.
The Jerusalem Post spelled out reasons why the cartoon was so offensive, saying the Nazis depicted Jews as animals.
“We used to say that images ‘conjured up memories’ of 1930s antisemitism. This didn’t conjure it up; this showed us exactly what it looked like,” columnist Seth J Frantzman wrote.
“No other country or minority group is subjected to such unrelenting and systematic hatred by mainstream US newspapers."
Donald Trump Jr, the president’s son, tweeted: “Disgusting. I have no words for flagrant antisemitism on display here. Imagine this was in something other than a leftist newspaper?”
David Harris, the chief executive of the American Jewish Committee, said that while antisemitism was rising, synagogues were attacked and Jews were killed, the paper was “pouring oil on the fire”.
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