Outrage -- justified or not?
Our Monday morning discussion group at Temple Micah spent most of the hour talking about Pat Oliphant’s controversial cartoon published last week and quickly labeled by the Anti-Defamation League as "hideously anti-Semitic".
As you can see, the cartoon depicts Israel as a headless, Nazi-like goose-stepping monster preying on tiny Gaza with a shark-like mouth coming out of a Star of David.
The TM group was not unanimous in its level of condemnation. The cartoon caused me to pose additional questions, such as:
-- Would the sentiment be as strong if it portrayed a giant US attacking a tiny Iraq? (Recall the recent New York Post cartoon showing a dead chimp which was interpreted to be President Obama. It was later retracted with an apology.)
-- What if it showed the combined Arab world having a go at a tiny Israel, which in terms of land mass would be quite accurate?
Criticism is nothing new for Oliphant. His cartoons offended the Asians in 2001 and the Arabs in 2005. He is known for his liberal thinking. So was he telling it like he sees it in this latest controversial cartoon? So far he has no comment.
Those offering comments on this site were almost universally behind Oliphant, including some who offered that they were Jewish.
Any thoughts?
posted by Barbara at 4:13 PM
10 Comments:
My thoughts: There is so much bad history on both sides, I've no idea if he's justified or not but I don't think his cartoon helps create a better reality.
It is a cartoonist's job to be thought-provoking, so I'd say Oliphant has succeeded on that front. And sometimes it takes harsh imagery to break through the "static."
That doesn't mean cartoonists should be blindly provocative, but there are large segments of the population that feel roughly what this cartoon seems to express...so I think it's fair. Hopefully the newspaper will balance this cartoon with one reflecting a more pro-Israeli stance.
Lacochran -- My guess is he knew he would hit a nerve with this one.
Steve -- Your "solution" is exactly what someone this morning suggested to level the playing field so to speak. It will be interesting to see how Oliphant ultimately responds to this and what those who published the cartoon do as well.
Which brings up another question: Would the public have been so critical of Israel if it had copied the Palestinian tactic of firing rockets indiscriminately into Gaza? That wouldn't have taken an army and would perhaps not have resulted in so much loss of life. Would it have been any more justified?
I think that if it bothers someone, then he or she is perfectly justified in outrage. One can't - and shouldn't - deny their feelings.
I'm glad you wrote about the cartoon. I meant to do so but never got around to it. I find it curious that the recent New York Post cartoon featuring the police shooting a chimpanzee caused so much outrage for its racist undertones, but this cartoon doesn't even garner a fraction of the media attention.
Kristin -- I couldn't agree with you more. I respect the opinion of someone who has bothered to learn the facts of a situation, but have trouble with anyone who has simply been caught up in media frenzy as many people are these days.
MC -- I suppose it's a sign of progress that the country is more sensitive to racism than it used to be. But there are a lot of people out there still unwilling to recognize anti-Semitism.
When I see a cartoon like this, all I can do is try to imagine what message the cartoonist was trying to convey. There's no way that I or anyone else can know for sure exactly what interpretation Oliphant had in mind unless he tells us, which he probably won't.
Was it anti-Israel or anti-Jew? Or are those two things one and the same? One of the commenters on the ADL site wrote "If all criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic, is all criticism of Obama racist?"
What I see in this cartoon is sort of a progression from left to right with the Star of David in the center of it all. The small headless Nazi still has one hand attached to the much larger Star of David which is now aiming its teeth towards Gaza. I think the cartoon is about both aggression and defensiveness and is meant to be ironic. I don't think it is anti-Semitic or anti-Israel, although it does appear to be critical of Israel.
Is my interpretation of this cartoon anti-Semitic?
i think steve is right, the important thing is balance - room for expression of views on both/all sides.
but there has to be room for criticism without accusations of anti-isms
Interesting cartoon, so many ways you could look at it. I think the use of the Nazi imagery cannot help to bring up some strong emotions though...
So many posts to catch up on... I do enjoy reading about your plants and organic food, and hope you are making the most of that free parking! x
I agree with Steve and Lettuce . I have always enjoyed seeing oliphant's art--have a book of his presidential cartoons somewhere around here.
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