Chessell concedes cartoon used antisemitic tropes
AFR editor said he had since done reading on antisemitism which had 'opened his eyes' and that he was on a learning curve to develop his understanding further
Australian Financial Review editor-in-chief James Chessell has conceded he permitted a cartoon depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be published without being aware it used classic antisemitic tropes.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry deputy president Robert Goot, co-CEO Peter Wertheim and head of legal Simone Abel met on Tuesday with Chessell, editor Cosima Marriner and managing editor Julia Feder.
The meeting followed widespread condemnation of a David Rowe cartoon published on March 21 showing Netanyahu riding a missile with the face of US President Donald Trump.
“The meeting was friendly and constructive,” an ECAJ statement said.
“Mr Chessell conceded he had permitted the cartoon to be published without being aware that some of its elements reprise classic antisemitic tropes.”
Chessell referred in particular to the words “Oy vey” and “Torah, Torah, Torah or whatever” and the blood-red depiction of the “oil”.
He said he had since done reading on antisemitism which had “opened his eyes” and that he was on a learning curve to develop his understanding further.
ECAJ representatives noted the AFR was generally well-regarded in the Jewish community, which made the appearance of the cartoon “all the more perplexing and disappointing”.
The AFR representatives were keen to hear ECAJ’s take on the current state of antisemitism in Australia and expressed shock at hearing about some of the incidents to which the Jewish community has been subjected.
ECAJ will be submitting a corrective opinion piece for publication in the AFR shortly and has agreed to remain in regular contact with the AFR editorial team to try to avoid similar situations arising in the future.
In a note published on Sunday, Chessell said the Financial Review had received numerous complaints and apologised for “certain language and imagery used in the cartoon” that caused offence.
The cartoon had been widely condemned by Jewish community leaders.
ECAJ co-CEO Alex Ryvchin called it “odious”, saying it appealed to “rusted on antisemites”.
“Trump’s critics have always cast him as wholly self-centred, isolationist and in contempt of traditional allies. Until now. Suddenly he has the blood-soaked Jew steering him, coercing him to do his bidding,” Ryvchin said.
Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council executive director Colin Rubenstein said the suggestion that Netanyahu was controlling Trump risked “evoking pernicious and baseless stereotypes about Israeli or Jewish influence over US decision-making”.
Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dvir Abramovich said the cartoon associated “sacred Jewish religious text with military aggression and deception” and trivialised the Torah itself.