The New York Times is in hot water after it made a huge cultural faux pas on the first day of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights.
According to the New York Post, several people took offense because the crossword puzzle on Sunday, December 18th, titled “Some Theme’s Missing” looked like the shape of a s#######.
The puzzle design was created by a Washington, DC-based consulting manager Ryan McCarty. In the past, he had created 22 other puzzles for the paper, but this one might be his last.
He was hyped about this offering, saying, “Thrilled to have my first Sunday puzzle in The Times! This grid features one of my favorite open middles that I’ve made as it pulls from a variety of subject areas.”
McCarty added that he “originally tried to make it work in a 15×15 grid but then decided to expand the grid out to a Sunday-size puzzle with a fun whirlpool shape.”
McCarty’s Twitter has been disabled.
However, Donald Trump Jr. wasn’t so excited, noting on Twitter how it resembled the hate symbol of Nazi Germany.
He tweeted, “Disgusting! Only the New York Times would get Chanukah going with this is the crossword puzzle. Imagine what they would do to someone who did this and was not ideologically aligned with them? I’ll give them the same benefit of the doubt they would give those people… EXACTLY ZERO.”
Disgusting! Only the New York Times would get Chanukah going with this is the crossword puzzle. Imagine what they would do to someone who did this and was not ideologically aligned with them? I’ll give them the same benefit of the doubt they would give those people… EXACTLY ZERO pic.twitter.com/eZHr0SQbT4
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) December 18, 2022
He was not the only one. The communications director at Nikki Fried for Governor, Keith Edwards, also took offense, spelling the holiday wrong.
“This is the NYTimes crossword puzzle today on the first day of Hanukka. What the hell, @nytimes?”
This is the NYTimes crossword puzzle today on the first day of Hanukka.
— Keith Edwards (@keithedwards) December 18, 2022
What the hell, @nytimes? pic.twitter.com/kNBs8RjyJJ
SAFE CUNY, a Zionist group of students in New York City public colleges, tweeted, “Today’s Crossword Puzzle from the New York Times for Hanukkah. Pretty much sums up the @nytimes for the past few years in regard to Jews and Israel.”
Today's Crossword Puzzle from the New York Times for Hanukkah.
— SAFE CAMPUS (@_SAFECAMPUS) December 18, 2022
Pretty much sums up the @nytimes for the past few years in regard to Jews and Israel, pic.twitter.com/KkxGmgZUkM
One of the loudest voices was from the Jewish media conglomerate Israel National News, who noted the crossword was published after an alleged anti-Semitic op-ed by the newspaper published on Saturday.
One day after its editorial board published an OP-ED attacking Israel, this was today's @nytimes crossword puzzle https://t.co/sfYnc9BpOq
— Israel National News – Arutz Sheva (@ArutzSheva_En) December 18, 2022
The Times has yet to comment on the puzzle or if they will be working with McCarty again.