Posted on 06/06/2003 11:34:31 AM PDT by Jean S
A cartoon that ran in the Chicago Tribune depicting Israeli Prime Minister with an oversized nose and a Star of David on his suit has been called anti-Semitic by a top Chicago rabbi who demanded readers boycott the newspaper.
"We decry the publication of this cartoon, which effectively makes this newspaper a vehicle of anti-Semitism," Rabbi Michael Siegel told a crowd of more than 100 protesters crowd gathered outside Tribune Tower, the Tribune reported.
In tbe cartoon, which dealt with the Bush administration attempts to broker peace in the Middle East, the president is shown enticing Sharon to cross a chasm labeled "Mideast Gulch" on a bridge partially covered with dollars spread out by Bush, while Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat waits on the other side with his arms folded, the Tribune explained.
As Sharon is shown looking at the cash, he says, "On second thought, the pathway to peace is looking a bit brighter."
Rabbi Siegel, who the Tribune identified as a former president of the Chicago Board of Rabbis, urged protesters to cancel their Tribune subscriptions and to contact advertisers with their concerns until the newspaper's editor, Ann Marie Lipinski, issues an apology.
Lipinski said: "I take exception to the imagery used in the cartoon and deeply regret the anguish it has caused some of our readers. At the same time, I know that hate was not the intent of the cartoonist or the editors who selected it."
The cartoon, the Tribune said was penned by Dick Locher, a former Tribune cartoonist.
"By publishing Mr. Locher's cartoon on Friday, the Chicago Tribune became a party to one of the basest of all anti-Semitic canards: The Jews are money grubbers," Rabbi Siegel said.
Others expressed their anger in letters to the paper
Said another protester Rabbi Vernon Kurtz, the North Suburban Synagogue Beth El "While I believe in free speech, I believe in this case it was abused. This particular cartoon . . . was very reminiscent of Der Sturmer in Nazi Germany--a hooked-nose Jew, an identifiable one, running after money. That was the worst outrage that I could see."
Chi-town....another mega-slum to build a very tall wall around.
Bump...
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