Photo from Twitter The UK Guardian issued an apology on April 29 for publishing a cartoon of a former BBC chairman, who is Jewish, that was laced with antisemitic tropes.
The cartoon was referencing Richard Sharp, who resigned from his position as chairman of the BBC for not disclosing that he helped former Prime Minister Boris Johnson obtain a loan at the same time Sharp was seeking the top job at the BBC. Canary Mission tweeted that the cartoon portrayed “a Jew with grotesque features & a hooked nose carrying a box labeled Goldman Sachs containing a vampire squid and the British [prime minister].” Author Dave Rich wrote in a May 1 Guardian op-ed that the term “vampire squid” became associated with Goldman Sachs after a 2009 article by Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone described the investment banking company as such.
“Antisemitic conspiracy peddlers regularly describe the fantastical Jewish power network they believe exists as a squid or octopus, its tentacles reaching into every part of society,” Rich wrote. “In the antisemitic imagination, Jewish power is never about muscular strength or straightforward authority, but is more insidious and manipulative. This is why anti-Jewish zoomorphism tends towards snakes, spiders and, yes, squids, rather than, say, predators like sharks or lions. There is nothing honourable, in this way of thinking, about how Jews acquire and deploy money and power.” He added: “The specific invocation of a ‘vampire squid’ connects with the blood libel allegation. Even Dracula himself, a mysterious figure of unexplained wealth who drinks blood and hates crosses, implicitly draws on this anti-Jewish tradition.”
The Guardian published a shocking antisemitic cartoon worthy of Nazi propaganda: a Jew with grotesque features & a hooked nose carrying a box labeled Goldman Sachs containing a vampire squid and the British PM. What's more disgusting? The cartoon or the Guardian & its… pic.twitter.com/JlWenpsIIi
— Canary Mission (@canarymission) April 30, 2023
The depiction of Richard Sharp in today's @guardian cartoon falls squarely into an antisemitic tradition of depicting Jews with outsized, grotesque features, often in conjunction with money and power. It's appalling. Here's why 🧵 pic.twitter.com/RI46VmL6z8
— Dave Rich (@daverich1) April 29, 2023
The Guardian issued a statement saying that they have removed the cartoon from their website. “We understand the concerns that have been raised,” a Guardian spokesperson said in a statement, per The Jerusalem Post. “This cartoon does not meet our editorial standards, and we have decided to remove it from our website. The Guardian apologizes to Mr. Sharp, to the Jewish community and to anyone offended.”
Martin Rowson, the author of the cartoon, said in a statement posted to his website that the cartoon was intended to convey “Johnson’s blithe toxicity by association, and how Sharp was the latest bit of blowback from the former Prime Minister’s casual if all consuming sleaziness and selfishness.” He added that he attempted to depict Sharp as “the stooge, the fall guy Johnson had brought low. I also wanted to hint at other parts of the story, and how the networks of [cronyism] cut every which way among our rulers.” Rowson also claimed that he was “trying to draw [Sharp] looking silently furious, by implication with Johnson, in the standard caricatural way common to all political cartoons of exaggerating various of his features” and that Sharp’s “Jewishness never crossed my mind as I drew him.” “This is on me, even if accidentally or, more precisely, thoughtlessly,” Rowson wrote, later acknowledging that “the cartoon was a failure and on many levels: I offended the wrong people, Sharp wasn’t the main target of the satire, I rushed at something without allowing enough time to consider things with the depth and care they require, and thereby letting slip in stupid ambiguities that have ended up appearing to be something I never intended.”
Despite the apologies, both The Guardian and Rowson have come under heavy fire. Jewish Chronicle Editor-At-Large Stephen Pollard wrote in an April 30 Daily Mail op-ed that the cartoon “would have fitted perfectly into Der Sturmer, the Nazi newspaper which routinely depicted Jews as diseased, or rats and leeches. Which leads to the question: how did a newspaper such as The Guardian, with its woke, progressive agenda, let this happen?” He later argued that The Guardian “has a long and shameful history of actually publishing such depictions of Jews,” citing as an example a 2012 cartoon depicting “Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the puppet master of William Hague and Tony Blair. Even the paper’s own readers’ editor agreed that it was based on the classic anti-Semitic idea of Jewish control over world events.” Pollard concluded: “It is the self-proclaimed anti-racists who so often turn out to be the foulest of the lot.”
StandWithUs Israel Executive Director Michael Dickson echoed a critique from Piers Morgan arguing that the same Guardian journalists silent over the Rowson cartoon would be all over a similar cartoon of a Muslim public figure if it were published by the Sun or Daily Mail. “Where are the voices who work at The Guardian and indeed, [Guardian News & Media Editor-In-Chief Katherine Viner]? They have a deliberate antisemitic blind spot. Commendations? Resignations? Sensitivity training? Nope. Crickets.”
Correct. Vile hypocrisy for a cartoon that would not look out of place in Der Stürmer. Where are the voices who work at The Guardian and indeed, editor @KathViner? They have a deliberate antisemitic blind spot. Commendations? Resignations? Sensitivity training? Nope. Crickets. https://t.co/w971PyN7nM
— Michael Dickson (@michaeldickson) May 1, 2023
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said in a statement that they have requested “an urgent meeting” with Viner to discuss the cartoon. “This is far from the first time that the paper has crossed the line in terms of highly questionable content connected to the Jewish community,” they said.
We have written to @guardian requesting an urgent meeting with the editor @KathViner in regard to yesterday’s shocking cartoon in the paper, which contained antisemitic tropes. pic.twitter.com/GTeh5hmHb4
— Board of Deputies of British Jews (@BoardofDeputies) April 30, 2023
The American Jewish Committee tweeted that “actions speak louder than words” and voiced support for the Board of Deputies of British Jews to meet with Viner. “Steps must be taken to ensure this won’t happen again,” they wrote.
Although the @Guardian apologized for running a blatantly antisemitic cartoon, actions must speak louder than words.
We support the @BoardofDeputies’ request for a meeting with editor @KathViner.
Steps must be taken to ensure this won’t happen again. https://t.co/rGR3O9nlHa
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) May 1, 2023
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