Guardian staff ‘did not know’ Sharp was Jewish

Newspaper’s editor said to be in US as anger grows over alleged ‘anti-semitic’ cartoon of EX-BBC chief

THE GUARDIAN has revealed that its editor is in America as more junior staff are blamed for publishing a cartoon that prompted accusations of anti-semitism.

On Saturday, the newspaper printed a cartoon of Richard Sharp, the former BBC chairman, who is Jewish, depicting him as a grinning caricature with an enlarged nose and carrying a Goldman Sachs office box, apparently stuffed with gold and a squid, as well as an apparent puppet of Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister. A pig’s head was also featured behind him.

Mr Sharp worked at Goldman Sachs as a banker between 1985 and 2007.

The cartoon of Mr Sharp – who was forced to resign from his role as BBC chairman last Friday after he was found to have broken rules on public appointments – led to anger from Jewish groups, politicians and celebrities on social media.

Martin Rowson, who drew the cartoon, has apologised, as did The Guardian – which removed the cartoon from its website. Its editor, Katharine Viner, agreed to meet Jewish leaders from the Board of Deputies over their “concerns”.

In a comment piece published on The Guardian’s website yesterday, Elisabeth Ribbans, The Guardian and Observer’s global readers’ editor, revealed that Ms Viner is currently in the US.

She said that many “concerned readers” had complained to the newspaper, and asked how the cartoon could have appeared in the first place.

She admitted that Mr Rowson and editors agree that “the execution [of the cartoon] went terribly wrong”.

She then added that Hugh Muir, The Guardian’s executive editor for opinion, whose brief includes the political cartoon, said it should not have been published, and readers were “right to complain”.

Mr Muir told her that at least three opinion desk staff had seen the cartoon but the “aggravating issue” was that none knew Mr Sharp was Jewish – or “the unhappy lineage of the vampire squid image”, Ms Ribbans said.

Squids are a common anti-semitic motif used as part of the conspiracy theory

‘We look forward to a frank discussion [with the chief ] about long-standing issues which have troubled many’

that Jews have their tentacles wrapped around society. The Goldman Sachs box, referenced in the cartoon, was seen as a reference to Mr Sharp’s former employer, which was famously described by Rolling Stone as “a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money”.

However, Ms Ribbans said: “I don’t think staff on the desk were bound to have known Sharp was Jewish (it had not been mentioned in any Guardian articles) but this was knowable information. Greater alertness to key tropes might have brought crucial pause.”

Her comment piece also carried a quote from Ms Viner, saying she was currently in the US. It said: “As soon as I saw the cartoon, I immediately removed it from our digital platforms and The Guardian apologised unreservedly to Richard Sharp and to the Jewish community. I welcome the fact that Martin Rowson has also apologised.

“The publication of this cartoon highlights failures in our editorial processes, which we are determined to address. We are working on what those changes might be so that we can be sure that something like this won’t happen again.”

Marie van der Zyl, president of the Board of Deputies, said: “The paper’s actions lie with its editor-in-chief.

“We are looking forward to a full and frank discussion with Ms Viner in the near future, to talk about this incident as well as other long-standing issues which have troubled many in our community for some time.”