The Guardian Edits Opinion Piece After Accusations of Antisemitism

Opinion columnist Jonathan Liew wrote a controversial piece about Israeli and Palestinian restaurants in London for The Guardian (Left bias) on March 14, sparking criticism and an update to the piece by editors three days later. 

The Original Article: Liew favorably described the "small and intimate" Cafe Metro supper club in north London, which was opened by Palestinian refugees last year. He called it "resistance in its tastiest and most delicately spiced form," explaining how the proceeds fund aid to Gaza. Liew wrote that one of the owners "lives out a precarious and hunted existence" in a Gaza refugee camp and uses food as "a marker of the Palestinian identity that Israel's bombs and snipers are so intent on erasing." He emphasized instances of anti-Palestinian actions against Cafe Metro, including reported government orders to remove its Palestinian flags. 

The writer went on to juxtapose Gail's, a chain bakery that recently opened 20 meters from Cafe Metro, the presence of which he called "an act of heavy-handed high-street aggression." He pointed out that Gail's was founded by a (now uninvolved) Israeli baker and that its parent company reportedly invests in Israeli security companies. Liew highlighted anti-Israeli actions against the bakery, from which no arrests were made. 

Liew's Argument: "In the current oppressive climate, even to exist as a Palestinian in western society is to be the target of aggression and suspicion, to be tainted as a murderer and an antisemite, even if your ambitions stretch little further than cooking food and serving coffee… You can't lay a glove on the US-Israeli military-industrial complex… So some people then direct their ire at the bakery with distant links to Israeli security funding." He controversially asserted, "Palestinian activism has arguably never been less capable of exerting a meaningful influence on global events, and so is increasingly defined by small acts of petty symbolism."

The Guardian's Editor's Note: "A reference to the arrival of Gail's feeling like 'an act of heavy-handed high-street aggression' has been repositioned to clarify it meant to refer to the described fears about the chain's impact on small traders. Also, a comment contrasting activism that is capable of influencing global events with 'small acts of petty symbolism', which was not intended to minimise local vandalism but rather to suggest its misdirected futility, has been removed to avoid misunderstanding."

How The Media Covered It: The outlet's edit and corresponding criticism were predominantly covered by outlets in the center and on the right. Straight Arrow News (Center) included it in its "Media Miss" column, noting, "Critics protested outside the Guardian's London offices, carrying paper bags from [Gail's] bakery." Outlets on the right often referred to Liew's piece as an "article" in their headlines, omitting the fact that it was an opinion. The Telegraph (Lean Right) framed it as antisemitic, referring to it as an "attack" on Gail's. AllSides didn't find any coverage of the Guardian's update from sources on the left.

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