Sunday Times Contradicts Itself Trying To Defend Its Holocaust Day Antisemitic Cartoon

In its infinite wisdom, the Sunday Times decided to commemorate Holocaust Day with the following cartoon drawn by Gerald Scarfe:

The obviously evil intent ascribed to Netanyahu is reminiscent of decades of both Nazi and Muslim antisemitic cartoons -- leading to an uproar against the paper.

It also led to the absurd attempt of the Sunday Times to defend the viciousness of the cartoon:

This is a typically robust cartoon by Gerald Scarfe,” said a spokesperson for The Sunday Times, adding, “The Sunday Times firmly believes that it is not anti-Semitic. It is aimed squarely at Mr Netanyahu and his policies, not at Israel, let alone at Jewish people [emphasis added].

The problem with this attempted excuse is that the cartoon is clearly not aimed only at Netanyahu.

After all, Scarfe himself makes very clear that the target is the Israeli elections -- which represent all Israelis who voted. He labels the cartoon at the bottom of the page: "Israeli Elections", adding "Will Cementing Peace Continue?"

Also keep in mind that these are the very same Israeli elections which:

• Include Arab parties
• Have sent Arab MK's to the Israeli Knesset, where they are known to speak their mind and visit terrorists
• Resulted in a loss of 10 seats for Netanyahu's Likud-Beiteinu party
• Resulted in the strong showing of the new centrist party Yesh Atid

Mr. Scarfe's cartoon is a reflection of the many pundits who in the weeks leading up to the Israeli election assured us that the Israeli elections would lead to a major rightward shift leading to who knows what sinister results.

Apparently, it is not only pundits whose analysis about the Israeli elections has exposed their ignorance.

-----

If you found this post interesting or informative, please it below. Thanks!

Technorati Tag: Gerald Scarfe and Antisemitism.