New York Times blames ‘single editor’ for anti-Semitic cartoon

The newspaper’s opinion page says that the matter remains under review and that “significant changes” are expected.

By World Israel News Staff

The New York Times is apologizing for the anti-Semitic cartoon published last week but says a “single editor” was responsible.

The cartoon appeared on Thursday in the international edition of the newspaper. It depicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a dog with a Star of David leading a blind U.S. President Donald Trump who was wearing a yarmulke.

On Saturday, the Times tweeted an acknowledgment that the cartoon included “anti-Semitic tropes.”

The paper said that its opinion section would later publish its own response.

“We are deeply sorry for the publication of an anti-Semitic political cartoon” tweeted New York Times Opinion on Sunday. “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 message continued.

New York Times Opinion says that “the matter remains under review, and we are evaluating our internal processes and training,” adding that “we anticipate significant changes.”

Israel’s Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan compared the Times caricature to “Nazi propaganda from the period of the Holocaust” and said that whoever is responsible for its publication should be fired.

The comparison was to a cartoon that appeared in Lustige Blätter, a German satirical magazine which, during the Nazi era, frequently featured anti-Semitic caricatures and illustrations that also targeted enemies of Germany, such as Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt. The cartoon, published in 1940, includes the caption: “England’s leadership is in good hands,” and shows a stereotypical-looking Jew leading Churchill.