New York Magazine Draws Fire Over 'Habibi City' Issue as Critics Cite 2 Israel References
Updated
Updated · TheWrap · Aug 12
New York Magazine Draws Fire Over 'Habibi City' Issue as Critics Cite 2 Israel References
3 articles · Updated · TheWrap · Aug 12
Summary
New York Magazine said it takes criticism seriously after its “Habibi City” package drew backlash over language critics said erased Jewish and Israeli identity.
Two passages drove the dispute: the cover story grouped “Zionism” with “xenophobia” and “Islamophobia,” and a food feature called Israel “the land mass currently called Israel.”
Hen Mazzig, Simon Sebag Montefiore, End Jew Hatred and HonestReporting said the issue imposed a political test on Jewish belonging and treated Israel’s legitimacy as provisional.
The package, published Monday, framed New York’s “SWANA-ssance” as a post-Oct. 7 cultural and political rise tied to pro-Palestinian organizing, while acknowledging tensions over whether Israelis and Jews fit within that community.