New York Times ‘deeply sorry’ for anti-Semitic Trump cartoon after Jewish leaders accuse paper of stoking hatred

NEW York Times has said it is “deeply sorry” for running an anti-Semitic cartoon in Thursday’s international print edition.

The cartoon, which depicted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a dog on a leash held by a blind President Donald Trump, has since been slammed by Jewish leaders.

The controversial image was instantly blasted by readers and branded “anti-Semitic” after its offensive portrayal of  “anti-Semitic tropes”.

On Saturday, the New York Times acknowledged that publishing the caricature in its international edition “included anti-Semitic tropes,” and called its use an “error of judgement.”

Their original statement was also put on blast, with many saying that it was “appalling” and “inadequate”.

The statement said: “The image was offensive, and it was an error of judgement to publish it. It was provided by The New York Times News Service and Syndicate, which has since deleted it.”

‘INADEQUATE APOLOGY’

After many people criticised and attacked the New York Times for its statement, it decided to release a follow-up apology the next day.

It said: “We are deeply sorry for the publication of an anti-Semitic 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.

“Such imagery is always dangerous, and at a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise worldwide, it’s all the more unacceptable.

“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.”

‘ERROR OF JUDGEMENT’

Despite apologising, many are not willing to forgive the New York Times for the anti-Semitic cartoon which was printed the same week the tragic anti-Semitic synagogue shooting took place in California on Saturday.

David Harris, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, posted a series of tweets explaining his frustration with the cartoon.

He wrote: “The “cartoon” is beyond shocking. Antisemitic in the extreme. No, “apology” isn’t adequate. Rather, @nytimes owes readers an explanation of how this happened — after all, decision to print it involved more than one person — & what it says about the paper’s view of Israel & Jews.”

The ‘cartoon’ is beyond shocking. Antisemitic in the extreme. No, ‘apology’ isn’t adequate

David Harris, CEO of the American Jewish Committee

In another tweet, he said: “The more I think about the @nytimes “cartoon,” the more appalled I am.

“While #Antisemitism is rising…synagogues are attacked & Jews killed…democratic #Israel is demonized…& Jewish institutions are forced to bolster security… The “paper of record” pours oil on the fire.”

The American Jewish Committee also tweeted: “Apology not accepted. How many @nytimes editors looked at a cartoon that would not have looked out of place on a white supremacist website and thought it met the paper’s editorial standards?

“What does this say about your processes or your decision makers? How are you fixing it?”

The offensive caricature was printed just days before the tragic California synagogue rampage took place, killing one and injuring three people.

The shooter opened fire in the busy Chabad of Poway near San Diego, California at 11.30am local time (BST).

Poway Mayor Steve Vaus, speaking from a police command centre, described the shooting as a “hate crime”.

The shooting took place on the final day of the Passover.

It came exactly six months since a shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue killed 11 people in the deadliest attack on Jews in US history.