In a week where the Jewish community has been at the centre of another traumatic incident, a cartoonist at The Times has been accused of stoking the flames further in his depiction of Zack Polanski – and the Green Party is now seeking a forthright apology.
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Zack Polanski catches heat for Golders Green response
Polanski has come under heavy scrutiny for his take on the police’s response to the knife attack in Golders Green. Essa Suleiman stabbed a Muslim and two members of the Jewish faith earlier in the week, triggering fear and panic among the community.
Police officers who detained Suleiman were filmed kicking Suleiman while he was on the ground, and after he had been tasered. Mr. Polanski shared his concerns on X, questioning the show of force from the men in uniform. However, this has created a significant outcry.
The Green Party leader, himself Jewish, has been accused of undermining the police, with figures across the political spectrum branding his response unacceptable. Polanski has apologised for the manner in which he raised the issue, stressing that the officers ‘showed bravery’ in approaching the subject.
The Times accused of ‘antisemitic depiction’ of Zack Polanski
With the 2026 Local Elections just a few days away, this whole affair could prove to be detrimental for the Greens. The backlash has been fierce – but the party believes that Peter Brookes, a cartoonist for The Times, have overstepped the mark in his criticism.
Shared on Saturday, Brookes’ animation shows Polanski kicking one of the officers as they arrest Suleiman. However, he stands accused of exaggerating certain features on the 43-year-old’s face, with some critics alleging that he’s accentuating Jewish tropes.
Green Party responds to ‘vile’ cartoon
In a statement shared on Saturday, the Green Party were quick to stress that Zack Polanski himself has faced a barrage of antisemitic abuse since taking the reigns as leader, and accused The Times of being ‘deeply irresponsible’ in its portrayal of the incident.
“It is astonishing that amongst a rising climate of anti-Semitism in the UK, a national newspaper has chosen to publish a cartoon of the only Jewish political leader in the country using tropes so clearly associated with antisemitic depictions of Jewish people.”
“Zack faces daily antisemitism. The words used by both politicians and the media this week, directing further attacks towards Zack in the wake of a violent attack on his community, are deeply irresponsible” | Green Party
Polanski also appeared on Sky News on Sunday morning to make the same point. He has called the cartoon ‘vile’, and revealed that his party has written to the publication to ask for an apology – and tone down the tensions.
“Antisemitism and Jewish safety is not some abstract concept for me. In fact, in the last six weeks alone, two people have been arrested in relation to antisemitic actions towards me and yesterday the Times newspaper published a vile antisemitic cartoon, which we’ve asked them to apologise for.”
“I don’t believe that we make Jewish safety better by escalating tensions. I think we recognise how scary it is at the moment for certain communities. We saw three people stabbed this week, and its important to de-escalate tensions as leaders.” | Zack Polanski