Overview
- New York Magazine published a multi-article special issue titled “Habibi City” on Monday that profiles a rising Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) cultural and political scene in New York and links that visibility to protests after Oct. 7, 2023.
- Several pieces in the package used provocative wording and examples, including a food feature that described Israel as “the land mass currently called Israel” and essays that reported voices within the community saying Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute “genocide” and listing “Zionism” alongside xenophobia and Islamophobia.
- Jewish organizations, pro-Israel groups such as AIPAC, advocacy groups like End Jew Hatred, former contributors and commentators publicly condemned the issue for erasing Mizrahi and other regional Jewish identities and for equating Zionism with identity-based hatred.
- New York Magazine’s editorial leadership issued a statement saying it aimed to capture community tensions and that it takes responses seriously, but the magazine has not retracted the package or issued a formal apology and some writers have canceled subscriptions in protest.
- The dispute has sharpened debate over the contested SWANA label, editorial judgment after recent ownership changes at New York media properties, and potential effects on New Yorkers’ safety and civic life as reports show rising anti-Jewish incidents and public pressure on the magazine could prompt further editorial scrutiny or readership fallout.