- The Philadelphia Inquirer retracted a cartoon by illustrator Monte Wolverton
- The image showed a military boot with a Star of David about to destroy Palestinians
- The editors admitted that the cartoon contained “anti-Semitic” motifs and “should never have been published.”
A Philadelphia newspaper has apologized for publishing a “highly insensitive” cartoon criticizing Israel’s response to the Hamas terror attack.
The Philadelphia Inquirer admitted that Monte Wolverton’s illustration contained “anti-Semitic tropes” and “should never have been published.”
The inflammatory image shows a black military boot with a Star of David, meant to symbolize the state of Israel about to resign in front of a crowd of Palestinians.
An arrow labeled Hamas appeared to indicate a minority of people on the ground.
A speech bubble coming from the trunk urged the crowd to “distance” as they appeared ready to destroy everyone.
The Philadelphia Inquirer admitted that Monte Wolverton’s illustration contained “anti-Semitic tropes” and “should never have been published.”
The cartoon, by illustrator Monte Wolverton, criticized Israel’s response to the Hamas attack and portrayed the state as a giant military boot bent on destroying Gazans
The newspaper’s editorial team released an apology for the cartoon shortly after massive backlash
The drawing was released on Tuesday, days after the deadly Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 that killed 1,400 people and retaliatory attacks left more than 3,000 people dead in the Gaza Strip, according to the country’s health ministry.
Almost immediately after the cartoon was published, the newspaper was hit with a severe backlash.
Now the newspaper’s editorial team has apologized humbly, saying: “In hindsight, the cartoon depicting an oversized Israeli military boot stepping on Hamas terrorists hiding among civilians in response to the October 7 attack should not have been published.” be allowed to be.”
“Regardless of interpretation, the illustration reinforces harmful anti-Semitic tropes about Israeli aggression.”
It goes on to say that the board condemned the terrorist attacks days after they occurred and expressed the “unequivocal belief” that Israel should be able to defend itself.
The statement added: “It is clear that this cartoon was extremely insensitive, particularly at the current time when anti-Semitism is on the rise.” “We hear the outcry and apologize for the pain it has caused. “
The board also promised to review its illustration selection processes “to prevent errors like this from occurring again.”
The cartoon sparked strong reactions online, but artist Monte Wolverton has yet to remove it from his social media page
The cartoon appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Tuesday, just days after the Hamas terrorist attack that killed around 1,400 people
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, around 3,785 Palestinians have been killed in retaliatory strikes by Israel since the attack
Wolverton shared the image on his social media page on October 13, where it remains intact despite other X users branding it “shameful.”
One person said: “This is disgusting.”
Another wrote: “Good propaganda, you Jew who hates anti-Semites.”
And one person said, ‘You don’t even have the decency to clean up this crap?’ One newspaper has already apologized for printing this rubbish.’
Wolverton describes his work as “biting political commentary” and has been producing drawings marketed by Caglecartoons for 25 years.
His website describes him as one of the most syndicated editorial cartoonists in the world.