Following recent criticism by myself and others about a piece prominently highlighted on The Washington Post’s home page on January 7, which suggested Israel was somehow following in the footsteps of Nazi Germany, the newspaper has issued a rare apology.

The piece, part of the Post’s religion column, was penned by Arun Gandhi, grandson of India’s legendary leader “Mahatma” Gandhi, and was titled “Jewish Identity Can’t Depend on Violence.”

The Washington Post has often been criticized by Jewish groups for running pieces highly slanted against Israel, but it is extremely unusual for the paper to acknowledge bias.

In a statement on Friday The Washington Post wrote that readers “found Gandhi’s initial remarks anti-Semitic and his subsequent apology insufficient. When we undertook this project over a year ago, we wrote that our goal was to shed light on a subject – religion – – that too often generates heat. The Gandhi post failed to comply with that mission, and we can only ask our readers to extend ‘On Faith’ a measure of forbearance and tolerance as the site endeavors to conduct a civil and illuminating conversation. We regret the initial posting, and we apologize for the episode.”

Arun Gandhi’s original piece also appeared on the Newsweek website.