New York Times defends swastika-shaped crossword published during Hanukkah

The New York Times has responded to an outpouring of criticism over the design of its crossword puzzle on Sunday, which many prominent Jewish figures said resembled a swastika. 

‘This is a common crossword design: Many open grids in crosswords have a similar spiral pattern because of the rules around rotational symmetry and black squares,’ a Times spokesperson told DailyMail.com on Monday. 

The puzzle’s silhouette has caused a stir on social media, with several prominent Jewish leaders and political figures voicing their outrage – especially since it was published on the first night of Hanukkah.

Some contend the pattern – which is striking and jumps off the page even at a glance – is a coincidence, while others claimed it serves as one of the latest and most brazen examples of the paper’s supposed history of anti-Israel rhetoric.

In a separate controversy, Israeli politician Benjamin Netanyahu, who is likely to return to the prime minister’s office after the country’s recent elections, slammed the Times over an editorial criticizing his right-wing coalition.

The New York Times has responded to a outpouring of criticism over the design of its crossword puzzle on Sunday, which many prominent Jewish figures said resembled a swastika

New York Times Crossword Editor Will Shortz has been with the newspaper since 1993, overseeing the paper’s popular word puzzles 

‘After burying the Holocaust for years on its back pages and demonizing Israel for decades on its front pages, the New York Times now shamefully calls for undermining Israel’s elected incoming government,’ Netanyahu tweeted on Sunday. 

Though Netanyahu did not address the controversy over the crossword puzzle, other critics were quick to connect the puzzle with the publication’s editorial stances on Israel. 

Israeli media network Israel Nation News pointed out the puzzle came a day after the Times’ editorial warning against the new Israeli government headed by Netanyahu. 

The outlet went on to ask its 38,000 followers if they thought the disturbing imagery was intentional or not. 

Netanyahu, who was ousted last year after four years in office – has maintained a firm stance against Palestine in their border struggle for the Gaza Strip. 

He is set to return to power as head of the country’s most right-wing government ever after an election win last month. 

In a separate controversy, Israeli politician Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the Times over an editorial criticizing his right-wing coalition

 

In the piece published Saturday, The Times warned that ‘Netanyahu’s government, however, is a significant threat to the future of Israel — its direction, its security and even the idea of a Jewish homeland.’

The Times also faced backlash during the Holocaust for barely mentioning the mass extermination of Europe’s Jews during Hitler’s conquest of the continent.

Out of more than 24,000 front-page stories over the course of that time period, the systemic killings by the Nazis were mentioned just 26 times, and often only the victims as ‘refugees’ or ‘persecuted minorities.’

The paper is run by AG Sulzberger – the sixth member of the Ochs-Sulzberger family to serve The Times as publisher since the newspaper was purchased by Adolph Ochs in 1896. The family is of both German and Jewish ancestry. 

Other figures to voice concern about the Sunday crossword puzzle included two prominent New York politicians and several Jewish groups and leaders.

 

 

NYC Council member Kalman Yeger wrote, ‘A hidden Happy Chanukah message in today’s @nytimes crossword?’, while his counterpart, Councilwoman Inna Vernikov shared his post while airing similar incredulity, writing, ‘Seriously @nytimes!?’

S.A.F.E. CUNY,  an alliance of City University of New York scholars and students dedicated to the the Zionist movement, wrote, ‘Today’s Crossword Puzzle from the New York Times for Hanukkah. Pretty much sums up the @nytimes for the past few years in regard to Jews and Israel.’

The organization serves as a sort of watchdog for antisemitism, and flags local instances in its colleges throughout the city.

It is not the first time that a Times crossword puzzle has drawn criticism for resembling a swastika. 

A similar incident occurred in 2017, and at that time the newspaper responded in a tweet: ‘Yes, hi. It’s NOT a swastika. Honest to God. No one sits down to make a crossword puzzle and says, “Hey! You know what would look cool?”‘