“It was certainly not my intention to insult or upset anyone,” Mr. Biderman told Haaretz later. “I have drawn cartoons depicting every war that Israel has fought, including the Yom Kippur War — which I was involved in — where we suffered thousands of casualties,” he added.

“I have used some of Israel’s greatest tragedies as the background for my cartoon,” the illustrator said. “I never imagined that by using an image that evoked 9/11 I would cause such a storm.”