Fury erupts after The Guardian ran ‘anti-Semitic’ of ousted BBC boss
A cartoon of ousted BBC chairman Richard Sharp has been faraway from the web site of The Guardian after it triggered a livid response over perceived anti-Semitism. The picture, by Martin Rowson, exhibits Mr Sharp, who’s Jewish, carrying a field marked Goldman Sachs, and containing a squid and what gave the impression to be a Rishi Sunak puppet. Beside him, sitting on a mountain of dung, is former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who says: “Cheer up matey. I put you down for a peerage in my resignation honours list.”
Mr Sharp, who has labored for Goldman Sachs up to now, stop his submit on the BBC on Friday after an unbiased investigation concluded he had damaged the principles by not disclosing his involvement as an middleman to assist Mr Johnson safe an £800,000 mortgage assure.
Mr Rowson’s depiction of Mr Sharp is extremely problematic, with critics together with author Dave Rich suggesting it strengthened stereotypes about Jewish individuals.
Mr Rich, who has written about anti-Semitism up to now, mentioned the cartoon was in step with a “tradition of depicting Jews with outsized, grotesque features, often in conjunction with money and power”.
He added: “The problem is that a squid or octopus is also a common antisemitic motif, used to depict a supposed Jewish conspiracy with its tentacles wrapped around whatever parts of society the Jews supposedly control.
“Especially money. Are those gold coins in the box with Sharp’s squid?”
Laura Farris, Conservative MP for Newbury, tweeted: “This is an appallingly antisemitic cartoon from the @guardian.”
Ex-Chancellor Sajid Javid, the Tory MP for Bromsgrove, shared a cartoon by one other Guardian cartoonist, Steve Bell, exhibiting former Home Secretary Priti Patel with horns and a hoop via her nostril.
He commented: “Disappointed to see these tropes in today’s Guardian. Disturbing theme – or at best, lessons not learned?”
Christian Wakeford, the Labour MP for Bury South who defected from the Tories final 12 months, posted: “These people aren’t stupid. They’re educated enough to know why this is wrong.
“The normalisation of antisemitism in society is still alive and well and needs stamping out. I hope The Guardian take swift disciplinary action.”
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Ex-Labour MP Ian Austin, who stop the occasion because of considerations about anti-Semitism throughout the management of Jeremy Corbyn, tweeted: “What an utterly revolting cartoon, full of disgusting antisemitic imagery.
“It seems like one thing from a far-right Nazi publication however is in truth in @guardian and they need to be ashamed of themselves.”
Meanwhile Stephen Pollard, The Jewish Chronicle’s Editor-at-Large, tweeted: ”It takes a lot to shock me. And I am well aware of The Guardian’s and especially Rowson’s form.
“But I still find it genuinely shocking that not a single person looked at this and said, no, we can’t run this. To me that’s the real issue.”
Mr Rowson himself tweeted: “Through carelessness and thoughtlessness I screwed up fairly badly with a Graun toon at present & many individuals are understandably very upset. I genuinely apologise, unconditionally.”
A longer statement on his website added: “Sometimes, like on this case, within the mad rush to cram as a lot in as potential within the 5 or so hours obtainable to me to provide the art work by deadline, issues go horribly mistaken.
“I know Richard Sharp is Jewish; actually, while we’re collecting networks of croneyism, I was at school with him, though I doubt he remembers me.
He continued: “His Jewishness by no means crossed my thoughts as I drew him because it’s wholly irrelevant to the story or his actions, and it performed no acutely aware position in how I twisted his options in accordance with the usual cartooning playbook.
“Likewise, the cute squid and the little Rishi were no more than that, a cartoon squid and a short Prime Minister, it never occurring to me that some might see them as puppets of Sharp, this being another notorious antisemitic trope.”
The Guardian mentioned in an announcement issued at present: “We understand the concerns that have been raised.
“This cartoon doesn’t meet our editorial requirements, and now we have determined to take away it from our web site.
“The Guardian apologises to Mr Sharp, to the Jewish community and to anyone offended.”