Comments on: The Furor Over Cartoonist Gerald Scarfe’s Depiction of Netanyahu Continues

By: James Francis

James Francis — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 06:26:00 +0000

This cartoon is clearly not anti-semitic. Consequently I’m even less sympathetic with Israelis than before. Note that I don’t say ‘Jews’. Jewish people are found across the world and do not all follow the narrow line of thinking established by the Israeli far-right. This cartoon is clearly anti-Israel. That is a very different matter. If I were Jewish, I’d be worried that political powers are usurping a culture’s history to score points and slap down critics.

By: pammy1964

pammy1964 — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 09:20:00 +0000

don’t see how it can be seen as anti-semitic, after all what most people forget is that the Palestinians are also a semitic race. It’s about time people woke up to how the Palestinians are being treated in their own land.

By: chrisco

chrisco — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 06:16:00 +0000

Well it has become clear recently that criticism of Israel means you are anti-Israel. And if you are anti-Israel, you are anti-Semitic. That is Eliot Abrams’ formulation and certainly a key talking point for the Lobby. They want to make all criticism of Israel off limits by equating it with racial hate.

P.S. The World is an excellent program, but not so much when it comes to Israel/Palestine. It is like all the others on this front.

By: Luc0065

Luc0065 — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 22:20:00 +0000

Can someone explain me why this cartoon is seen as anti Semitic? So if criticizing someone’s policies is seen as attacking his religion and because of that censorship has to be applied, then freedom of speech days are counted.

By: Lord Moyne

Lord Moyne — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 10:39:00 +0000

BIRTH CONTROL FOR ETHIOPIAN JEWISH IMIGRANTS
The mild by comparison, Gerald Scarfe cartoon depicting Netanyahu building a wall is only offensive to Zionist supporters of the occupation of the land of Palestine, and was used to illustrate the article; “Will cementing the peace continue?”, a reference both to the stalled peace process and Israel’s separation barrier, fences and concrete walls which Israel portrays as a defense against suicide bombers but which indigenous Palestinians say is a land grab under the guise of security.
A quick glance will tell that most European Jews do not even look remotely Semitic. The term “anti-semitism” is an archaic misnomer, Zionists will cling for dear life to the term anti-Semitic, because they think it supports the myth that they are Semites trying to return to their homeland.
The arab peoples are Semites, therefore the best expression in plain English should be Anti-Jewish, something that the Scarfe cartoon is plainly not.
I suspect the real reason for the complaint by the Zionist lobby is to bury the extremely serious fact that many Ethiopian Jewish immigrants to Israel, have for years been given the birth control drug Depo-Provera without their consent. Benjamin Netanyahu whose ancestors hail from Poland, is responsible for the health portfolio, warned that immigrants from Africa “threaten our existence as a Jewish and democratic state”.
Therefore a suitable subject for a Scarfe cartoon could depict the psychotic Benjamin Netanyahu grasping a syringe of Depo-Provera dripping with the blood of a freshly sterilised Ethiopians, now that would be a biting political comment.
Perhaps only then the UN Human Rights organisation will take Israel seriously and drag Netanyahu to a UN Human Rights tribunal and treat israel for what it really is…