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New York Times to Apologise for Anti-Semitic Caricature of Trump, Netanyahu

The New York Times said it will issue an editor’s note in its Monday issue taking responsibility and apologising for a cartoon of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which some found “anti-Semitic", the edition said in a Saturday tweet.
Sputnik

The image shows Netanyahu, depicted as a guide dog wearing The Star of David on its collar and leading "blind" Trump who is shown wearing a traditional Jewish yarmulke (skullcap).

"The image was offensive, and it was an error of judgement to publish it. It was provided by The New York Times News Service and Syndicate, which has since deleted it", says the editor's note posted on the NYT's Twitter account and set to be published on Monday,.

According to the note, the cartoon, provided by The New York Times News Service and Syndicate — "which has since deleted it" — played "on anti-Semitic tropes".

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​Benjamin Netanyahu enjoys close ties with US President Trump, which he used to his benefit during a general election campaign this year. On 21 March, Trump recognised the disputed region of the Golan Heights as a part of Israel, while last year, he unilaterally recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital, even moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv.

Meanwhile, Minnesota Democratic Senator Ilhan Omar has repeatedly accused US lawmakers of supporting Israel in exchange for payments from American Jewish organisations. Many have blasted the comments as "anti-Semitic" remarks.

​On 26 March, Trump addressed Netanyahu demanding Israel curb trade ties with China, saying security cooperation between the two countries could be "harmed" if Tel Aviv refused to comply.

According to an Axios report at the time, the demand was a "surprising contrast" to the usual state of US-Israeli relations, considering Washington's and Tel Aviv's alignment on "virtually all issues".

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