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Cornell student paper retracts cover art featuring ‘Holocaust inversion’ image
The illustration depicted a bloodied Star of David with a Nazi symbol in the centre carved into the back of a Palestinian woman
October 28, 2025 14:46
The illustration depicted a bloodied Star of David with a Nazi symbol in the centre carved into the back of a Palestinian woman
October 28, 2025 14:46The Cornell Daily Sun, a student paper at the prestigious New York college, has retracted a recent piece of cover art after it was accused of using “Holocaust inversion” imagery.
The illustration, entitled A Thousand and One Eyes for an Eye and attributed to Karim-Aly Kassam, depicted Nazi SS lightning bolts inside a bloody Star of David carved onto the back of a Palestinian woman.
The paper also featured an op-ed from Kassam, a professor of environmental and indigenous studies at the university.
Criticising the image, law professor William Jacobson told Fox News Digital: “To me, it reflects the normalisation of Holocaust inversion, both on the internet and now on Cornell’s campus.
"This [SS lightning bolt] graphic is specifically inside a bloody Jewish star...I think it’s obviously highly offensive.”
The accompanying article was also scrutinised, particularly for Kassam’s claim that “The Israeli government and military justified ruthless destruction and killing by explaining to the US media that the Palestinians are “animals”; therefore, not worthy of human rights and protection under international law”.
"Ironically, this caricature of an ethnic community is not unlike what the Nazi’s said about other peoples living in Europe to justify their genocide,” he added.
Julia Senzon, the paper’s editor-in-chief, said the drawing “may plausibly cause visceral harm to our readers based on the historical context of the ‘SS’ symbol,” according to Fox.
The paper republished the opinion piece by Kassam without his drawing, which appeared to be dated to 2024.
Kassam, meanwhile, told the New York Post: “I am deeply saddened to learn that this portion of the artwork has been interpreted by some as antisemitic.”
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