Editor of Pulitzer Prize-winning US newspaper fired over cartoon deemed ‘antisemitic’
Gannett, the largest newspaper publisher in the United States and the owner of The Palm Beach Post, has fired Editorial Page Editor Tony Doris over a cartoon that slammed the Israeli regime’s genocidal war on Gaza.
The 67-year-old Doris, who worked for The Palm Beach Post for over two decades, most recently as an editorial page editor, was fired on February 17 after he decided to publish a cartoon about the war in Gaza.
The cartoon, which ran late in January, was criticized by a local Jewish group as “antisemitic”, resulting in a quick response from Gannett’s senior editors.
Doris, who is Jewish, stressed that he viewed the cartoon by Jeff Danziger, as anti-war but not antisemitic.
“They’re conflating criticism of the government of Israel with antisemitism,” Doris told Stet News.
“I fully support Israel’s right to exist. … I think you can feel that way and still be open to discussion of the issue of violence that has taken place there. They don’t get to shut down the conversation just because they’re not comfortable with it.”
The cartoon shows two Israeli soldiers helping a captive held by Hamas step over the bloody bodies of Palestinians with the headline, “some Israeli hostages are home after over a year of merciless war” and the words “watch your step.” The bodies are labeled “Over 40 thousand Palestinians killed.”
In a statement, Gannett said that the cartoon “did not meet our standards,” adding it “would not have been published if the proper protocols were followed.” The company did not name those protocols.
Doris slammed Gannett’s senior editors, saying “They’re afraid of their shadow.”
Danziger, the 81-year-old veteran cartoonist who drew the image, said in an interview the cartoon criticized war as a solution, a product of his experience as an intelligence officer.
“I’m a Vietnam veteran, and I think that I know what I’m talking about — at least from the standpoint of war being bad,” Danziger, whose father is Jewish, said, dismissing the idea that the cartoon was antisemitic.
Israel launched a genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, killing at least 48,397 Palestinians and injuring 111,824 others, after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
On January 15, the Israeli regime, having failed to achieve any of the objectives its war, including the “elimination” of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas or the release of captives, was forced to agree to a ceasefire deal with Hamas.
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