Editor Apologizes Israel ‘Apartheid’ Headline
The editor of a national broadsheet newspaper in Australia apologized to the Jewish community for a headline which accused Israel of “cruel apartheid.”
Nick Cater, editor of the Weekend Australian newspaper, admitted this week that the headline to a story in the May 5 newspaper – titled “Living under the cloud of Israel’s cruel apartheid” – should not have been published.
Cater told the Australian Jewish News that the incident was “deeply embarrassing” because of the “offensive nature” of the words used in the headline.
Peter Wertheim, chief executive of The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, wrote in a letter published in Monday’s Australian newspaper that the headline was “an affront to those who endured the real apartheid.”
The Australian newspaper is owned by News Corp., run by Rupert Murdoch, and has been strongly supportive of Israel, which Cater described as “a democratic nation surrounded by hostile neighbors.”
Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.
But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses — take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
