Aussie newspaper points a grovelling apology after publishing ‘offensive’ cartoon in aftermath of the Bondi terror assault
Nine Newspapers has issued a public apology after a ‘divisive’ cartoon about the royal commission into the Bondi Beach terror attack sparked widespread backlash.
The media giant has copped heavy fire over cartoonist Cathy Wilcox’s illustration titled ‘Grassroots’, which was published in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald last Wednesday.
Daily Mail has chosen not to republish the cartoon, which showed media mogul Rupert Murdoch, anti-Semitism envoy Jillian Segal, former prime minister John Howard, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, Coalition Senator Jacinta Price, and National Party leader David Littleproud uplifting a patch of grass full of royal commission protesters.
To the side of the politicians was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, beating a drum along with a thought bubble reading ‘don’t mention the war’.
The cartoon sparked widespread claims of antisemitism and outrage from Jewish leaders, politicians and high-profile Australians, prompting Nine to publish an apology and explanation on its newspaper websites on Sunday.
‘Much has been said and written about the Cathy Wilcox cartoon published in these pages on January 7,’ the apology read.
‘For decades, the Herald’s cartoonists have held up a mirror to reflect hypocrisy in public life. This is the price of independence and it must never be compromised.
‘Wilcox’s intention was to scrutinise the almost immediate politicisation following the horrific attack at Bondi. She by no means intended to cause hurt to the Jewish community.
Nine newspapers have issued an apology after publishing a cartoon ‘mocking’ calls for a royal commission into the Bondi Beach terror attack (pictured, the memorial at Bondi Pavilion)
Cathy Wilcox (pictured at a 2017 Fairfax protest) created the cartoon to ‘scrutinise the almost immediate politicisation following the horrific attack at Bondi’
‘Her depiction of Benjamin Netanyahu, for example, is premised on his condemnation of Anthony Albanese in the hours after the attack, declaring the prime minister’s recognition of Palestine “pours fuel on the antisemitic fire”.’
The apology was published just hours before mourners gathered in the rain at Bondi Pavilion to mark one month since the deadly terror attack that claimed 15 innocent lives at a Hanukkah celebration.
Jewish community leaders branded the cartoon an offensive take on mounting calls for a comprehensive investigation and federal royal commission into the December 14 terror attack.
Former Northern Territory senator and Olympic gold medalist Nova Peris on Friday labelled the cartoon as ‘pathetic’.
‘Many of us spoke publicly after this national tragedy out of a commitment to justice and a determination to confront terrorism, not excuse it,’ she said.
‘To portray Australians from across professions who call for accountability as agents of Jews or Israel is vile, dehumanising, and deeply insulting to families who watched their loved ones and innocent people hunted with military-grade weapons by Islamist terrorists.
‘These families did not lose loved ones to a cartoon. They lost them to real violence. Real hatred. Real evil. Here. On our shores. At our iconic Bondi Beach.’
Peris warned ‘mockery’ of the violent event only worked to insinuate ‘Jewish suffering is exaggerated, manipulated, or politically manufactured’.
The offensive cartoon implied grassroots protests for a royal commission into the attack were being propped up by politicians (pictured, mourners at the Bondi memorial)
‘For centuries, Jews were depicted as schemers and manipulators, as bribers, controllers, subhuman caricatures blamed even for their own deaths. These lies were never harmless. They created permission. And permission led to violence,’ she said.
‘This cartoon sits squarely in that tradition.
‘It mocks the dead, grieving families, and Australians who stand up by portraying calls for accountability as obedience, corruption, and manipulation.
‘Mockery in the face of terror is not political insight. It is moral collapse. History has seen this before. And it never ends well.
‘Do better for goodness sake and importantly for the safety and love of this great nation.’
Federal senator Sarah Henderson similarly branded the cartoon ‘deeply offensive’.
Nine Newspapers admitted that while many readers ‘found the cartoon thought-provoking’, it also deeply hurt and offended others.
‘We have heard their distress and for this pain, we sincerely apologise,’ it said.
‘As royal commissioner Virginia Bell begins her inquiry, we will have more uncomfortable conversations about what constitutes free speech.’
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured) last week bowed to pressure for a royal commission into the December 14 terror attack
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week relented to mounting pressure and ordered a royal commission into the Bondi Beach massacre.
He had previously claimed a royal commission wouldn’t provide the immediate results needed to address safety concerns and instead ordered an internal review of intelligence agencies.
However, loved ones of the victims, thousands of Australians and prominent Jewish leaders rallied for a more thorough investigation of the event to find its underlying causes.
Daily Mail contacted Nine Newspapers for comment.
