Al Jazeera Sorry For ‘Mistakenly’ Tweeting Anti-Semitic Meme

By Sam Kestenbaum June 1, 2017

After tweeting (then deleting) an anti-Semitic meme on Wednesday, Al Jazeera apologized and called the post an error.

“This is not AJE image but a reply to an old thread that was mistakenly linked,” Al Jazeera English tweeted. “We apologise for the error.”

The image was originally tweeted on Wednesday to promote a story about climate change.

Al Jazeera later deleted the post, but Twitter user Eli Meixler quickly took a screenshot.

The meme is known as the “Happy Merchant,” and depicts a hook-nosed Jew in a yarmulke rubbing his hands together. BuzzFeed has called the character the “internet’s favorite anti-Semitic image.”

Email Sam Kestenbaum at kestenbaum@forward.com and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum

Sam Kestenbaum is a contributing editor and former staff writer for the Forward. Before this, he worked for The New York Times and newsrooms in Sana, Ramallah and Beijing. Contact him at kestenbaum@forward.com and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum and on Instagram at @skestenbaum.

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