Sunday Times denies antisemitism in Israeli election cartoon

Paper defends 'typically robust' Gerald Scarfe image after Jewish group complains to Press Complaints Commission

The Sunday Times has defended a cartoon by Gerald Scarfe about the Israeli elections after it was compared to imagery in "the virulently antisemitic Arab press" by a Jewish representative group.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews, an elected group representing Jewish people in the UK, said it had complained to the Press Complaints Commission about the cartoon published on Sunday.

In the cartoon, the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, was depicted building a wall using what appeared to be the blood of Palestinians. It carried the strapline: "Will cementing peace continue?"

It was described by Jon Benjamin, chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, as "appalling" and "shockingly reminiscent of the blood libel imagery more usually found in parts of the virulently antisemitic Arab press".

Benjamin said that cartoon was "all the more disgusting" because it was printed on Holocaust Memorial Day, when millions of Jews and others killed in the Holocaust were being remembered in services across the UK.

However, the Sunday Times denied that the cartoon was antisemitic. In a statement, the News International title described Scarfe's imagery as "typically robust", and added: "It is aimed squarely at Mr Netanyahu and his policies, not at Israel, let alone at Jewish people. It appeared yesterday because Mr Netanyahu won the Israeli election last week.

"The Sunday Times condemns antisemitism, as is clear in the excellent article in yesterday's magazine which exposes the Holocaust-denying tours of concentration camps organised by David Irving."

Martin Ivens, the acting editor of the Sunday Times, said: "The last thing I or anyone connected with the Sunday Times would countenance would be insulting the memory of the Shoah or invoking the blood libel. The paper has long written strongly in defence of Israel and its security concerns, as have I as a columnist. We are, however, reminded of the sensitivities in this area by the reaction to the cartoon and I will of course bear them very carefully in mind in future."

Scarfe is one of the UK's best-known cartoonists. He publishes an often-confrontational illustration in the Sunday Times, but has also designed artwork for opera, film and theatre, as well as the opening credits for BBC comedy Yes Minister and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/jan/28/sunday-times-antisemitism-israeli-election-cartoon