Canadian Paper Apologizes After Running Cartoon Seen As Anti-Semitic
The Edmonton Journal apologized for publishing this cartoon, which was accused of being anti-Semitic. Image by Edmonton Journal
(JTA) — A Canadian newspaper that ran a cartoon seen as anti-Semitic has apologized following backlash from the local Jewish community.
The Edmonton Journal cartoon nearly two weeks ago by Malcolm Mayes was about a data breach that exposed personal information belonging to millions of Capital One customers featuring a “data hacker” sitting with a laptop inside a wallet. The hacker had a black beard and a large nose reminiscent of anti-Semitic caricatures of Jews.
“We are disgusted with Mr. Mayes’s cartoon, with your tacit approval of it in your willingness to publish it, or, alternatively, we are astonished by your willful blindness if you did not see the harm that this cartoon would cause,” Jewish Federation of Edmonton President Steven Shafir wrote to the paper’s editorial staff, according to the Canadian Jewish News.
According to Honest Reporting Canada, a pro-Israel advocacy group, “Mayes has a history of anti-Israel caricatures,” including one in which hands labeled Israel and Hamas are illustrated as pushing Palestinians into a meat grinder.
The Journal apologized on Friday, saying in a statement on its website that it has “been pointed out that the image of the person bears resemblance to anti-Semitic tropes prevalent in some anti-Jewish propaganda. This resemblance was entirely unintentional, but given that association, the Edmonton Journal apologizes for the publication of the cartoon. We are re-examining the procedures we have in place to vet editorial content to avoid future such occurrences.”
Earlier this year, The New York Times apologized for running what it called an “anti-Semitic political cartoon.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
