The Manchester Evening News and Metro both separately apologised on Tuesday for publishing coverage that prompted complaints from the Jewish community.
The MEN’s page 12 headline, in its world news section, said: “Palestinian shot dead after holy site killing.”
On Sunday a Hamas gunman opened fire in the streets of Jerusalem’s Old City (pictured in the aftermath), killing an Israeli man and wounding several others. The gunman was shot dead by police.
The MEN said in a statement online: “In today’s print MEN we carried a headline on the international page following a deadly attack in Jerusalem.
“We recognise the headline did not reflect the story in an accurate and balanced way. We apologise unreservedly for any upset caused.”
@MENnewsdesk Seriously? This is your headline? A Palestinian terrorist guns down an Israeli civilian in cold blood and tried to murder many more and you deliberately obfuscate? This is an insult to humanity never mind decent journalism. pic.twitter.com/paHDFkkUqo
— Ben Paul Robson (@TheEscapedGoat7) November 23, 2021
The apology came after the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and Region said it had written to the editor of the MEN, Darren Thwaites, to request an urgent meeting.
It said it was “appalled” by the headline, adding: “The framing of the headline and the subsequent article recklessly fails to reflect the tragic incident.”
In addition the Jewish Chronicle reported that Marie van der Zyl, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, described the headline as “a highly misleading inversion of what took place” and hoped for a prominent correction.
“The incident in question saw a Hamas terrorist kill one Israeli civilian and wound four others, before being neutralised by the Israeli police,” she added.
Meanwhile Metro editor Ted Young apologised for publishing a letter that argued ex-Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq was not racist when he wrote anti-Semitic tweets as he is from a minority and Jews are a “privileged majority”.
The Metro has published a letter saying Azeem Rafiq couldn’t have been racist as he’s from a minority group, and Jews can’t be victims because they’re part of a “privileged majority”. Stupid and wrong, but why is the Metro publishing somebody excusing racism without challenge? pic.twitter.com/EcvVwmZD3e
— Nick Timothy MP (@NJ_Timothy) November 23, 2021
Telegraph columnist and Theresa May’s former adviser in Number 10, Nick Timothy, said the comments were “stupid and wrong, but why is the Metro publishing somebody excusing racism without challenge?”
David Baddiel, who wrote the book Jews Don’t Count which examines why anti-Semitism is seen as a lesser form of racism, said it was “amazing how unchallenged” such comments go.
Young said on Twitter: “The MetroTalk page is carefully edited with all sorts of views coming in from around the country…
“Our readers always challenge views that are clearly wrong in the cut and thrust of debate. But in hindsight, this should not have made the page. Apologies.”
He also confirmed there will be an apology printed in Wednesday’s newspaper.
“We get a hell of a lot of points of view from around the country every day and this should never have got through,” Young told Baddiel.
Rafiq told the Jewish News last week he was “genuinely sorry” for the comments, made when he was 19, and that he was “very angry with myself”.
Picture: Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
