Canadian newspaper accused of antisemitism after Netanyahu cartoon

Israeli embassy in Canada criticized a Montreal French-language newspaper after it published political cartoon showing Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a vampire. In the cartoon, Netanyahu stands on a ship above an inscription that says: "Nosfenyahou, en route to Rafah" ("Nosfenyahou, on the way to Rafah").

"Shame on La Presse for posting this vile Caricature. The anti-Semitism in Canada is off the chart," read the embassy's statement on X (formerly Twitter).

La Presse chief editor Stéphanie Grammond apologized in a statement posted online onnWednesday, saying it was never the paper’s intention to promote harmful stereotypes.

“The drawing was meant to be a criticism of Mr. Netanyahu’s policies,” Grammond wrote, according to The Canadian Press. “It was aimed at the Israeli government, not the Jewish people.”

Politicians, including Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as well as Jewish leaders criticized the cartoon, reminiscent of Nazi propaganda against Jews. Trudeau told reporters: “It is distasteful and exactly the wrong thing to do, particularly in these times."

Nazi propaganda in the 1930s commonly portrayed Jewish people as vampires. As CBC wrote, "the original depiction of Count Orlok in the Nosferatu film has been compared to stereotypical caricatures of Jewish people."

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