Michael Ramirez, the political cartoonist, had his artwork mocking Hamas removed by The Washington Post due to internal and external backlash. Ramirez is speaking out about the “unfortunate” episode restricting free speech. His cartoon titled “Human shields” depicted the terrorist group’s spokesperson using civilians as shields. Ramirez stated that it is evident that Hamas uses civilians for their own purpose. While the Washington Post retracted the anti-Hamas cartoon, the Review-Journal is standing by it. Ramirez said he has a working relationship with Post opinions editor David Shipley, who chose the anti-Hamas cartoon from multiple options provided by the cartoonist. The cartoon was removed from the Post’s website and replaced with an apologetic editor’s note and letters from readers condemning the illustration. Ramirez said Shipley “begged” him not to walk away over the deletion, and Ramirez committed to doing two more cartoons for The Washington Post before reassessing their relationship. Ramirez said Shipley resisted the idea of removing the cartoon and was apologetic for doing so but suggested that the episode is “unfortunate.” He added that he’s glad the cartoon has sparked a debate on freedom of speech and will address the issue in a cartoon to be published in the Sunday edition of the Review-Journal.