Is the New York Times anti-Semitic? Many puzzle solvers are convinced

As Jewish people all over the world observe December 18 as the first day of Hanukkah this year, a New York Times puzzle played a spoilsport, triggering a severe backlash on Twitter. 

Meghan McCain, daughter of US Republican politician John McCain, accused the “anti-Israel” New York Times of knowingly publishing a Sunday crossword puzzle that featured a swastika in its blank spaces.

Hanukkah, or the Jewish Holiday of Lights, changes from year to year but usually corresponds to November or December. This year the holiday is from December 18 to December 26.

“On the first night of Hanukkah the anti-Israel New York Times issues a crossword puzzle that looks like a swastika. Can’t make this shit up, “ the TV personality wrote. “We see you @nytimes - we see you.”

Columnist and author Joseph Steinberg reminded his followers that this was not the first time the New York Times crossword puzzle had featured a swastika in its midst.

“The second time, on the day after its editorial board published a piece criticizing the world's only Jewish state, and on #Hanukkah eve, it's hard to be so naive,” he tweeted.

The New York Times, in 2017, defended itself that that puzzle did not intentionally feature a swastika.

“Yes, hi. It's NOT a swastika. Honest to God. No one sits down to make a crossword puzzle and says, 'Hey! You know what would look cool?'" the newspaper then tweeted from its New York Times Games account.

Some people calmly called the New York Times out on their lack of supervision: “just seems like after the first one you should have added a “check for hidden swastikas” to the editing process idk,” tweeted comedy writer Deanna McDonald.

The incident largely went unreported in mainstream media, with the exception of the Jerusalem Post, who quoted Democratic Strategist Keith Edwards.

“This is the NYTimes crossword puzzle today on the first day of Hanukka. What the hell, @nytimes?” Edwards tweeted.

Former newspaper copy editor Annette Licitra also offered her insight, critiquing the New York Times: “Even if the crossword editor misses it,” she wrote, “you’re supposed to have a production and/or composition editor who scans the pages for precisely these kinds of things.”

A New York Times spokesperson defended the "common crossword design", telling the Wrap on Monday that "Many open grids in crosswords have a similar spiral pattern because of the rules around rotational symmetry and black squares.”