New York paper apologises over cartoon using antisemitic stereotype
A newspaper in New York has apologised after using an overtly antisemitic cartoon to promote an investigative series about a local funding issue.
The Journal News in Rockland County, in the Lower Hudson area known locally as Lohud, ran the cartoon depicting a rabbi as a puppet-master manipulating children on top of a pile of cash. The words alongside read: “Rabbi holds the strings on $76m for East Ramapo School District.”
The Agudath Israel organisation immediately released a statement condemning the cartoon for evoking one of “the worst antisemitic tropes.” The concept of “the Jew as a conspiratorial puppet master, covertly manipulating the world economy and events” goes back to at least the 1700s and was “further amplified” by The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the group said. This imagery had stoked hatred for hundreds of years, the organisation observed, and was employed by the Pittsburgh synagogue gunman, who murdered eleven worshippers in 2018.
Agudath Israel also demanded an apology and called for a commitment by the publication to “avoid bigoted imagery” in the future.
In response, Rockland County’s largest newspaper published an apology on its website acknowledging that its “hurtful” image and words “degrade and demean” Jews. In its statement, the publication acknowledged that it had “posted a promotional illustration” on social media channels “whose words and imagery unintentionally featured an antisemitic trope.” Within an hour, the statement read, it had deleted the posts “after a reader contacted us pointing out this hurtful choice of imagery.”
The statement continued: “Members of our team did not recognise the stereotype that degrades and demeans Jews in the image and accompanying language. We’re deeply sorry this passed our review.”
The statement added that they “condemn all forms of antisemitism” and expressed gratitude to “all who sought to educate us on the history and hate behind the image.”
The paper also said it would postpone the story that it was promoting, and would “review the story’s visual elements.”
The statement concluded by saying that in coming days it would “reflect on our misstep over the illustration and engage in considerable outreach and listening with local Jewish communities.”
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