New York Times: Publishing cartoon with 'antisemitic tropes' was 'error of judgment'

The New York Times has admitted to “an error of judgment” in running a political cartoon in its international edition depicting Benjamin Netanyahu as a dog with a Star of David collar leading a blind and kipah-wearing Donald Trump.

The admission followed an international outcry, with Dan Shapiro, the former US Ambassador to Israel, among those expressing disgust.

“There is really no excuse for the New York Times to publish such a blatantly antisemitic image,” he tweeted. “Not acceptable in any way."

Advocacy group the American Jewish Committee declared that “naked antisemitism such as this is not ‘an error of judgment’. We have to wonder if the editors would’ve published a similar cartoon depicting any other country or people.”

In its statement, the New York Times acknowledged that the image featured “antisemitic tropes” and “was offensive.

“It was an error of judgment to publish it. It was provided by the New York Times News Service and Syndicate, which has since deleted it.”

The paper then issued a second statement apologising after the outrage continued, saying it was "deeply sorry" for the publication that followed “a faulty process” resulting in “a single editor working without adequate oversight.”

The second statement said: “The matter remains under review, and we are evaluating our internal processes and training... We anticipate significant changes.”

“Such imagery is always dangerous, and at a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise worldwide, it is all the more unacceptable,” it said.