Main British Jews name for assembly with Guardian editor over cartoon
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he Board of Deputies of British Jews has known as for an “urgent” assembly with the editor-in-chief of The Guardian over the usage of “antisemitic tropes” in a cartoon about Richard Sharp.
The newspaper eliminated the drawing by cartoonist Martin Rowson from the Guardian web site on Saturday and apologised to the Jewish group and Mr Sharp – who introduced his resignation as BBC chair earlier within the week.
A overview discovered the previous Tory donor broke the principles by failing to reveal that he performed a task in getting then-PM Boris Johnson an £800,000 mortgage assure.
On Sunday, the Board of Deputies of British Jews wrote in a Twitter assertion: “We have written to The Guardian requesting an urgent meeting with the editor Katharine Viner in regard to yesterday’s shocking cartoon in the paper, which contained antisemitic tropes.
“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.”
The cartoon was additionally criticised by the Campaign Against Antisemitism’s chief govt, Gideon Falter, who stated it got here when individuals who practise Judaism “observed the Sabbath” and known as it a “resignation offence” for Ms Viner.
Cartoonist Rowson additionally apologised on his web site, saying: “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.”
Mr Sharp was depicted within the drawing with a field marked Goldman Sachs, the place he used to work, that contained what seems to be a puppet of the present Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, an animal that appears like a squid and a CV – whereas a Mr Johnson determine sits on cash.
Posting on Twitter on Saturday, creator David Rich, who has written books about antisemitism, defined animals with tentacles amongst different “tropes” are utilized in damaging drawings about Jewish folks.
He wrote: “You might argue that outsized facial features and tentacles are common to other topics too, so it’s just a cartoon thing.
“Except where something has a long and familiar antisemitic history, it takes on a different meaning when you apply it to Jews.”
Former chancellor and ex-health secretary Sajid Javid additionally wrote on Twitter: “Disappointed to see these tropes in today’s Guardian. Disturbing theme – or at best, lessons not learned?”
In a press release, The Guardian stated: “As we said yesterday this cartoon does not meet our editorial standards, and we have decided to remove it from our website.
“The Guardian apologises to Mr Sharp, to the Jewish community and to anyone offended.”
“We have received a small number of complaints about the cartoon. The Guardian’s independent readers’ editor is considering these and will respond in due course.”