The Portuguese cartoonist behind a cartoon published in the international edition of the New York Times that has been widely denounced as anti-Semitic is defending his work and claiming criticism of it is being driven by the “Jewish propaganda machine.”
The cartoon, which the Times has since issued multiple apologies over, depicts a blind yarmulke-wearing US President Donald Trump being led by a dog with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s face, which has a collar in the shape of a Star of David.
Speaking with CNN, Antonio Moreira Antunes insists he has the “utmost respect” for Jews but they’re not “above criticism.”
He says accusations of anti-Semitism are being “made through the Jewish propaganda machine” and pushed by unspecified right-wing Jewish figures.
“The Jewish right doesn’t want to be criticized, and therefore, when criticized they say ‘We are a persecuted people, we suffered a lot… this is anti-Semitism,'” Antunes tells the network.
A caricature of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump published in The New York Times’ international edition on April 25, 2019, which the paper later acknowledged “included anti-Semitic tropes.” (Courtesy)
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