PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: The Philadelphia Inquirer has issued a public apology after publishing cartoonist Monte Wolverton’s "highly insensitive" illustration that pushed "antisemitic tropes" and criticized Israel's response to the Hamas’ deadly attack.
The editorial board for the big city paper put out a piece on October 18, 2023, admitting that Wolveton’s cartoon "should never have been published".
Wolverton has been producing drawings syndicated by Caglecartoons for the last 25 years. He is best known for his satiric pages in Mad, his Weekly Wolvertoon website, and his contributions as an associate editor of The Plain Truth.
Being the son of cartoonist Basil Wolverton, he grew up in the Pacific Northwest and attended college in Los Angeles.
His career as a graphic designer began in the early 1970s when he had his first cartoons and comics published in CAR-toons, CB Radio, Creative Computing, and Youth.
When did the Philadelphia Inquirer publish Wolverton’s cartoon?
The Philadelphia Inquirer published Wolverton’s cartoon on Tuesday, October 15, just a week after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 which killed 1,400 and has resulted in the deaths of further than 3,000 Gazans in retaliatory attacks.
The provocative picture shows showed a huge black military boot with a Star of David threatening to crush a group of Palestinians that included a number of Hamas members dispersed throughout, according to Daily Mail.
A speech bubble attributed to the boot wearer – a representation of the Jewish state about to crush its enemy – stated, "Distance yourselves!"
The group of Palestinians and Hamas militants was drawn haphazardly beneath the impending boot, which appeared set to crush the majority of the people depicted.
The newspaper faced a strong backlash almost immediately following the publication of the cartoon.
What did the Philadelphia Inquirer say about publishing Wolverton’s cartoon?
Following the outcry, the Philadelphia Inquirer released a groveling apology, stating, “In hindsight, the cartoon depicting an oversized Israeli military boot stepping on Hamas terrorists hiding among civilians in response to the Oct. 7 attack should not have been published.”
“Regardless of the interpretation, the illustration reinforces pernicious anti-Semitic tropes about Israeli aggression,” the apology continued.
It further added that the board had voiced an "unequivocal belief" that Israel should be allowed to defend itself and had denounced the terrorist assaults days after they had taken place.
“It is clear this cartoon was highly insensitive, particularly at the current moment when antisemitism is on the rise. We hear the outcry and apologize for the pain it caused,” the statement added.
The board also pledged to review its processes for illustration selection "to prevent failures like this one from occurring again."
Internet reacts to Wolverton’s cartoon
Wolverton posted the cartoon to his Twitter page on October 13. It is still there in spite of criticism from other X users who called it "shameful."
“Jeezus…do u just enjoy explaining anti-Semitism?” one user said.
“This is disgusting,” the second user fumed, while the third user wrote, “Monte supports baby killers.”
“You don't even have the decency to take this crap down? A newspaper already apologized for printing this garbage,” one said.
“What a despicable cartoon. You really showed your true self. Consider yourself on notice,” another user wrote.
“This thing is an antisemitic Mad Magazine rip-off parody, right? Can't be real,” one more said.
