Green Party complains to the Telegraph over ‘racist and antisemitic’ cartoons
The Greens have they ‘will not cooperate’ with Telegraph journalists until 'the situation is resolved'
The Green Party has issued a complaint to the Telegraph over two cartoons it published of the party’s leader Zack Polanski and deputy co-leader Mothin Ali.
The Greens say the images used “well-known racist and antisemitic tropes” and have called on the Telegraph to immediately delete them and apologise.
The artwork by cartoonist Patrick Blower depicts Ali wearing a “Zionism is Racism” badge and a Palestinian flag.
The image also includes the message “Eat your Greens” as Ali appears to prepare to eat the severed head of Polanski, whose is depicted with a large hooked nose.
The Muslim Greens and Jewish Greens put out a joint statement yesterday condemning the “deeply offensive cartoon”, which was published on 10 October.
The statement said: “The depiction of a Muslim political figure as menacing, violent and grotesque, alongside imagery reminiscent of antisemitic caricatures of a Jewish political leader, raises serious concerns about Islamophobia, antisemitism and anti-Palestinian racism.”
It adds: “As Muslim and Jewish members of the Green Party of England and Wales, we reject attempts to pit our communities against one another.”
In another cartoon by Christian Adams, also published in the Telegraph on Saturday, Polanski is again depicted with an exaggerated, large hook-shaped nose.
The Green Party has said that until the Telegraph retracts the cartoons and apologises, it will not cooperate with its journalists.
A spokesperson for the Green Party said: “The depictions of Zack and Mothin are instantly recognisable as racist and antisemitic, and we will always challenge this kind of behaviour wherever we see it.
“The Telegraph has previously called out other papers for giving space to similar tropes, so we insist it practices what it preaches and acts immediately to address the harm it has caused.
“Until this is resolved and the paper is once again acting in line with accepted editorial standards, we refuse to support its journalism.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
Left Foot Forward doesn't have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.
Donate today
