The image showed a blue Star of David above a hand pushing down on a group of people accompanied by a quote frequently misattributed to the philosopher Voltaire: "To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticise."

Cusack added, "Follow the money."

The quotation is a reworking of one from American white nationalist and Holocaust denier Kevin Alfred Strom.

Cusack initially defended the tweet against social media critics, accusing Israel of atrocities against Palestinians.

He then blamed a "bot" for the post before deleting it.

"Made a mistake retweeting that - as I said - and sorry," he later tweeted.

Australian Associated Press