A German newspaper has expressed regret after publishing a cartoon that depicted the State of Israel as a ravenous monster. Munich-based Sueddeutsche Zeitung says the picture appeared Tuesday alongside two reviews of books about Israel. The caption suggested that the Jewish state was seen by its enemies as akin to Moloch -- a monstrous deity from the Old Testament to whom followers sacrificed their children. "For 20 years, Israel has been receiving weapons, some of them free of charge. Its enemies believe it is a ravenous Moloch," the cartoon's caption read. Israeli Ambassador to Germany Yakov Hadas-Handelsman criticized the picture as being "tasteless in a grave, misleading way" and Jewish groups denounced it as anti-Semitic. In a letter addressed to the editor, Hadas-Handelsman wrote that the paper had "crossed the line of acceptable journalism" and added that "one would expect Germany to be especially sensitive [toward the Jewish people]." The newspaper said in a brief statement on its website Wednesday that it regretted "misunderstandings" caused by the caption and that publishing the cartoon "was a mistake." The image used in the cartoon had been taken from a stock library and wasn't originally intended as a depiction of Israel.
