Times Was Right to Change Insensitive Graphic

Many Times readers wrote to me Thursday about a graphic that appeared online and in print accompanying a story about the Iran nuclear deal. They protested a column in the graphic that identified whether lawmakers were Jewish, with a one-word heading: “Jewish?”

Typical of the objections was this one, from Jean Stevens of Los Angeles, who wrote to me: “Singling out Jews is reminiscent of horrific times in history.” And Jeffrey A. Carmel of Portola Valley, Calif., called the graphic “odious,” writing: “It certainly implies that these senators are somehow different from other lawmakers because of their religion. And, of course, the statistics on the percentage of Jews in their constituency further embellishes the suggestion that Jews are somehow different from other Americans.”

In addition, the graphic drew a great deal of negative reaction on Twitter:

The creepiest infographic you'll see today, courtesy of the NYT. Categories include “Jewish?” http://t.co/NenSllbqk8 pic.twitter.com/PxDgZY3bTE

— Oren Kessler (@OrenKessler) September 10, 2015

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