The layout of the New York Times crossword puzzle has plenty of people crying foul, beginning with the Jewish community. Published on the first night of Hanukkah, no less, the layout of the crossword puzzle looked an awful lot like a Nazi swastika.
Donald Trump Jr. lead the parade of outrage, taking to Twitter to blast the newspaper
“Disgusting! Only the New York Times would get Chanukah going with this is the crossword puzzle,” he tweeted. “Imagine what they would do to someone who did this and was not ideologically aligned with them? I’ll give them the same benefit of the doubt they would give those people… EXACTLY ZERO.”
Disgusting! Only the New York Times would get Chanukah going with this is the crossword puzzle. Imagine what they would do to someone who did this and was not ideologically aligned with them? I’ll give them the same benefit of the doubt they would give those people… EXACTLY ZERO pic.twitter.com/eZHr0SQbT4
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) December 18, 2022
For some, they explained the puzzle’s silhouette as a mere coincidence, while others saw it as blatant antisemitism.
A tweet from S.A.F.E. CUNY, an alliance of City University of New York scholars and students dedicated to the the Zionist movement, read: “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.”
As of this writing, it does not appear that the newspaper has responded to the controversy.
Here’s a sampling of other responses to the story from Twitter:
Other people have pointed out that the @nytimes crossword has an interesting layout this week. I thought, “There’s no way this actually made it to print.” I had just bought the print copy… and we’ll shit. I did nahtsee that coming. (This is real, I just took the photo) pic.twitter.com/j7OPp3UDyr
— Zach D Roberts – Photojournalist for hire (@zdroberts) December 18, 2022
Shocking. As Chanukah begins the NY Times Crossword puzzle is laid out in the shape of a Nazi Swastika. This on top of their being accused of anti-semitism for years. Will the media cover this up or confront them about this? pic.twitter.com/00EC9SHcxe
— MARK SIMONE (@MarkSimoneNY) December 18, 2022
A hidden Happy Chanukah message in today’s @nytimes crossword? pic.twitter.com/iFVPQdTWSi
— Kalman Yeger (@KalmanYeger) December 18, 2022
Dear @nytimes Crossword,
I am not one to see Nazi symbols in the wallpaper, but I have some questions. pic.twitter.com/H4HHgxINQs
— Howard Lovy (@Howard_Lovy) December 19, 2022
Anyone who has been following the recent NY Times coverage of the Hasidic Jewish community will not be surprised by the not so subtle symbol used in today’s Times crossword puzzle. https://t.co/xp0fH0XA8G
— Joel M. Petlin (@Joelmpetlin) December 18, 2022
What in the world is happening to the @nytimes?
Their ideal of “journalism” is in jeopardy.
First an antisemitic op-ed, two days later an antisemitic editorial, and now an antisemitic crossword puzzle!!!
Where is the outrage!? pic.twitter.com/jPllH72GsK
— David Aaronson (@Aaronson_David) December 18, 2022
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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