Steve Bell ‘sacked’ by Guardian in antisemitism row over Netanyahu cartoon

The Guardian will not renew its contract with cartoonist Steve Bell after his artwork depicting Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu was “pulled” from publication.

The cartoon showed the Israeli prime minister preparing to operate on his own stomach while wearing boxing gloves, where an outline of the Gaza Strip could be seen with the caption “Residents of Gaza, get out now” - a reference to Mr Netanyahu’s evacuation order for Gaza residents.

Mr Bell, who has worked with The Guardian for over 40 years, said the cartoon was “spiked” by the paper.

He said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Just to explain. I filed this cartoon around 11am, possibly my earliest ever. Four hours later, on a train to Liverpool I received an ominous phone call from the desk with the strangely cryptic message "pound of flesh...”

It has been reported that a pound of flesh could be in reference to Shylock, the Jewish moneylender in Shakespeare’s The Merchant Of Venice.

The artist said he had responded by saying: “I’m sorry, I don’t understand, I said and received this even more mysterious reply: ‘Jewish bloke; pound of flesh; antisemitic trope’. Clearly it was self-evident, anybody could see it…”

Mr Bell said on Twitter earlier this month: “It is getting pretty nigh impossible to draw this subject for The Guardian now without being accused of deploying ‘antisemitic tropes’.”

On Monday, a spokesperson for Guardian News and Media said: “The decision has been made not to renew Steve Bell’s contract. Steve Bell’s cartoons have been an important part of The Guardian over the past 40 years – we thank him and wish him all the best.”

It is not the first time Mr Bell’s cartoons have caused controversy.

In 2018, The Guardian refused to publish a drawing featuring former British prime minister Theresa May alongside Mr Netanyahu. The image depicted the pair sitting in front of a fire where a Palestinian nurse named Razan al-Najja burned behind them. Ms al-Najja was killed by an Israeli solider.

At the time, Mr Bell defended the drawing, insisting the cartoon was “sensitive” and denied it contained any anti-semitic tropes.

“I cannot for the life of me begin to understand criticism of the cartoon that begins by dragging in ‘wood-burning stoves’, ‘ovens’, ‘holocaust’, or any other Nazi-related nonsense,” he wrote on Twitter. “That was the last thing on my mind when I drew it, I had no intention of conflating the issues of the mass murder of European Jews and Gaza.”

In 2020, Mr Bell drew a cartoon depicting Sir Keir Starmer holding former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s head on a platter. Critics said the drawing was a reference to John the Baptist’s head being presented to the daughter of King Herod, the Jewish monarch from the Bible.

The cartoon was published following Mr Corbyn’s suspension from the Labour Party after his reaction to reports of anti-semitism under his leadership. The cartoon was published by The Guardian and remains on their website.

Also in 2020, Mr Bell controversially drew Priti Patel as a grotesque, fat bull with horns and a ring through her nose - alongside a depiction of Boris Johnson as a bull - which sparked outrage as some said it was a reference to her Hindu heritage.

The image remains published on The Guardian’s website illustrating an article titled “Steve Bell on Boris Johnson defending Priti Patel at PMQs – cartoon”.