New York Magazine blasted for ‘antisemitic,’ cover story that smeared Jewish people while supposedly celebrating Arab culture

Key Points:

• New York Magazine's recent cover story "Habibi City" has sparked significant backlash for its perceived erasure of Jewish identity and vilification of Israel, particularly amid rising anti-Semitic hate crimes in New York City.
• The article was criticized for framing the Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) community's cultural ecosystem as emerging from the "genocide in Gaza," while largely ignoring the October 7 terror attack by Hamas that killed 1,200 and abducted 251 people.
• Jewish groups and activists condemned the piece for equating Zionism with hate ideologies, marginalizing Mizrahi Jews, and omitting Jewish historical and cultural presence in the region, calling the coverage dangerous and exclusionary.
• Insider reports revealed questionable editorial practices during the article's production, including a problematic fact-checking process and allegations of the magazine using a controversial font associated with Nazi-era typography.
• Former New York Magazine writer Eve Barlow and other critics highlighted a pattern of the publication sidelining voices opposing anti-Jewish sentiment, reflecting a broader decline in the magazine's editorial standards and reputation.