The UK Guardian changed the photo in a story about record high incidents of anti-Semitism after facing accusations of “victim-blaming.”
Jewish Chronicle writer Daniel Sugarman noted in a Twitter thread that the initial photo of the riots at the Israel-Gaza border gave the impression that, whether the Guardian intended to or not, Jews were to blame for the rising anti-Semitism in the UK:
https://twitter.com/Daniel_Sugarman/status/1093446809308053509
https://twitter.com/Daniel_Sugarman/status/1093447467268476928
https://twitter.com/Daniel_Sugarman/status/1093448310663364608
https://twitter.com/Daniel_Sugarman/status/1093449104531828737
https://twitter.com/Daniel_Sugarman/status/1093449668397334529
https://twitter.com/Daniel_Sugarman/status/1093450237031661568
https://twitter.com/Daniel_Sugarman/status/1093450992190930945
https://twitter.com/Daniel_Sugarman/status/1093452320589926400
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted that the Guardian photo “unintentionally serves as a case study on the issue itself.”
“Anger with Israeli policies does not excuse #antiSemitism,” Greenblatt wrote. “Blaming the victim is never appropriate.”
This @guardian photo accompanying a story on the very real rise of #antiSemitism in the UK unintentionally serves as a case study on the issue itself. Anger with Israeli policies does not excuse #antiSemitism. Blaming the victim is never appropriate. https://t.co/ttYaUbpN9Q
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) February 7, 2019
Sugarman noted in the last tweet of his thread that the Guardian eventually changed its photo:
https://twitter.com/Daniel_Sugarman/status/1093453302421962752
As of publication time, the photo featured in the article was of a swastika beneath the word “Israel.”
The Guardian did not respond to the Journal’s request for comment as of publication time.
