A large public outcry at what many viewed as an anti-Semitic political cartoon in the Chicago Tribune has brought the editors to apologize for running it.
The cartoon by Dick Locher depicts a grotesque hook-nosed figure representing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon wearing a large Star of David. He stands before a bridge passing over a chasm labeled “Mideast Gulch,” staring at wads of cash laid in front of him by an anxious President Bush, with Arafat waiting at the other end with his arms crossed. The words placed in Sharon's mouth: “On second thought, the pathway to peace is looking a bit brighter.”
On Sunday, the newspaper apologized, saying it had “failed to recognize that the cartoon conveyed symbols and stereotypes that slur the Jewish people and that are offensive. The editors of this newspaper regret publishing the cartoon."
Former New York City Mayor Edward Koch was among those who protested, e-mailing the Tribune that "Your paper should be perceived by any decent reader as a successor to [Nazi newspaper] Der Sturmer."