No Newspapers Cancel Dick Locher

By: Dave Astor None of Dick Locher's 200-plus newspaper clients have canceled the cartoonist since his controversial Mideast drawing of May 30, a Tribune Media Services spokesperson said Thursday.

Meanwhile, Thursday's Chicago Tribune reported that more than 100 people gathered outside the newspaper Wednesday to protest the cartoon, which they felt was anti-Semitic. According to the story, a local rabbi asked protesters to cancel their Tribune subscriptions and contact advertisers with their concerns until the paper apologized. Tribune Editor Ann Marie Lipinski later stated: ""I take exception to the imagery used in the cartoon and deeply regret the anguish it has caused some of our readers. At the same time, I know that hate was not the intent of the cartoonist or the editors who selected it.""

The cartoon showed President Bush placing American dollars on a bridge over ""Mideast Gulch"" in an effort to lure Israel into negotiating with the Palestinians. ""On second thought, the pathway to peace is looking a bit brighter,"" says an Ariel Sharon-like figure as he eyes the money.

Anti-Defamation League National Director Abraham Foxman, in criticizing the cartoon, said: ""The image of the stereotypical, greedy, hooked-nose Jew who is motivated by money has been a persistent theme in anti-Semitic literature through the centuries.""

Locher said he intended no slur. He noted that editorial cartoonists exaggerate the features of various people and that ""I was trying to go to bat for the American taxpayer. Israel is a good friend, but let's get an accounting of where the money is going"" (E&P Online, June 3).

E&P Online received about 10 e-mails since its Tuesday story, with opinions about the cartoon split 50-50. One e-mailer said: ""The cartoon was undeniably racist and the paper's decision to publish it was bad judgment, at best."" Another wrote: ""What, now we can't even criticize Israel? Those who have complained don't really believe in free speech, unless of course it's their speech.""