Cartoon features antisemitic tropes
President of the Student Guild Nikhita Talluri issued a statement apologising for the cartoon.
A charity student newspaper has apologised for its front page, which Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said featured multiple antisemitic tropes.
The University of Western Australia Student Guild’s annual Prosh newspaper, which is described as crude and satirical, published a cartoon on its cover of Elon Musk holding a wad of cash while bending Donald Trump over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s desk. The headline is “Lobbied up the a$$”, with Netanyahu drawn with glowing red eyes.
“It depicts the Prime Minister of the Jewish state as some hypnotic, demonic force,” said Ryvchin.
“It plays on the theme of Jews and money and of Jews exercising undue power and controlling governments. What is most concerning is that it was allowed to be distributed throughout the city without the illustrator, editor, publisher or university seeing anything wrong with it.
“Even two federal politicians who have had some engagement with the Jewish community and the issue of antisemitism didn’t think it was problematic.”
The two politicians mentioned by Ryvchin are Patrick Gorman and Sue Lines, who have both posted photos of themselves supporting Prosh.
President of the Student Guild Nikhita Talluri issued a statement apologising for the cartoon, saying it opposed any degree of racism, intolerance and antisemitism.
“The cover illustration was intended as a satirical political caricature reflecting current American geopolitical issues, rather than a targeted commentary on any specific community,” said Talluri.
“We regret that it has been interpreted otherwise and acknowledge the discomfort it may have caused.” She added that the newspaper had been reviewed by defamation lawyers and various guild departments including those representing diverse cultural and religious backgrounds, while several Jewish students had been part of the editorial process.
“Nevertheless, we recognise that some readers found elements of the cover objectionable,” she said.
“We apologise to those who felt uncomfortable or offended.”
WA Premier Roger Cook said the cartoon “fell flat” and it was “appropriate” to apologise for it.
“I understand that the student guild of UWA decided to issue an apology – that is an appropriate in itself,” said Cook.
“What we do know is that political satire has a place in the world, and what we do know (is that) when it lands in the middle of a time of heightened anxiety … it often falls flat.”
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