Plan B Forum

NYT's international edition published this cartoon:



Predictably, some people were offended by the apparent antisemitic iconography of the cartoon. Jews as dogs was common in Nazi imagery.

However, portraying someone you don't approve of as a dog was common long before and long after the Nazis. (Why is it that 'dog-like' is usually an insult while 'cat-like' is usually a compliment? No-one knows.) Trump is wearing a yarmulke. We've seen that before. I would never wear one because I'm not Jewish and I have no wish to offend those who do belong to that religion by pretending somehow that I share their belief. For the same reason, if I am in church I don't take communion. If I had drawn that cartoon I might have skipped the Star of David (it is a symbol shared by both Judaism and Zionism -so it's a little confusing) and perhaps done a better job of portraying Netanyahu so it's not necessary; and I think I might have had a blindfolded, rather than blind, Trump. I am not sure what NYT is apologizing for.

Thanks, x-kA, I hadn't seen this yet.

I enjoy good political cartooning. It is the bedrock of our democracy.

This is a visual genre of discourse and communication, and it's meant to raised a few hackles along the way.

Free speech rules!

I'm the furthest thing from an anti-Semite; yet while I have serious concerns about and objections to many of Netanyahu's policies, I've long since given up speaking up about them.

Criticism of anything Jewish simply isn't allowed. Even Jews in Israel who criticize their government's policies toward Palestinians, settlements, etc. are often publicly decried.

For a non-Jew it's a lose-lose. If you mention Jews and money anywhere in the same essay - much less sentence - you're an anti-Semite. (Logic dictates that to speak about US foreign policy generally requires discussing foreign aid, yet use of the otherwise innocuous phrase 'follow the Benjamins' with regard to aid and lobbying re: Israel brings down a hail of criticism from right and left alike. Of course, Muslim Congresspersons probably should keep their mouths shut entirely, like Germans, when it comes to Jews.)

I have very mixed feelings about this; as a 2nd generation German American on my father's side, with cousins whose grandparents were Nazis, I have so much guilt about the Holocaust and I believe firmly in the adage that we must never forget, so as to never repeat. But while we must never forget the Holocaust, does that mean we can never, ever criticize anything about Israel, or the pro-Israel lobby in the US?

The cartoon, IMHO, is very apt.

The subjects of the cartoon are two individuals, not groups. I don't see how that can be 'antisemitic' unless one is trying to say that anyone who makes fun of Netanyahu is antisemitic, implausible.


yrs,
rubato

BoSoxGal wrote:I'm the furthest thing from an anti-Semite; yet while I have serious concerns about and objections to many of Netanyahu's policies, I've long since given up speaking up about them.

Criticism of anything Jewish simply isn't allowed. Even Jews in Israel who criticize their government's policies toward Palestinians, settlements, etc. are often publicly decried.

For a non-Jew it's a lose-lose. If you mention Jews and money anywhere in the same essay - much less sentence - you're an anti-Semite. (Logic dictates that to speak about US foreign policy generally requires discussing foreign aid, yet use of the otherwise innocuous phrase 'follow the Benjamins' with regard to aid and lobbying re: Israel brings down a hail of criticism from right and left alike. Of course, Muslim Congresspersons probably should keep their mouths shut entirely, like Germans, when it comes to Jews.)

I have very mixed feelings about this; as a 2nd generation German American on my father's side, with cousins whose grandparents were Nazis, I have so much guilt about the Holocaust and I believe firmly in the adage that we must never forget, so as to never repeat. But while we must never forget the Holocaust, does that mean we can never, ever criticize anything about Israel, or the pro-Israel lobby in the US?

The cartoon, IMHO, is very apt.

The imagery in the cartoon is not inherently anti-Semitic, but it is probably ill-advised given the history of actual anti-Semitic cartooning and the dog-whistling these particular tropes might represent.

As for criticism of Israel, it's only problematic if you credit the right-wing apologists who scream "Anti-Semitism!" whenever legitimate political issues are raised. There is already plenty enough anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim bigotry in American public discourse, we don't need to invent more that really isn't there. But complaints of anti-Semitism (like other complaints of "intolerance") are unfortunately frequently deployed as a political tool to silence opposition. There is a difference between criticizing acts of the Jewish state and criticizing Jews generally, and it is precisely the same difference between criticizing acts of the Islamic State and criticizing Muslims generally.

So that you know there is an active movement that both supports Israel and criticizes its government, here are some website resources:

J Street

Peace Now USA/שלום עכשיו

B'Tselem

Religious Action Center (URJ)

And a news organization that has battled its way back from extinction to new relevance: Forward

Nice to see you posting again Sue

Crackpot wrote:Nice to see you posting again Sue

Thanks, CP. Been rather short on time lately. Happy May Day to you, and everyone else!

As is typical for me, I was more interested in the stuff buried way down in the bottom tf the story.

This cartoon was taken from an AP wire feed and inserted in the paper soley by the choice of one editor working at the International Edition, without any review by anyone else before it went to print.

Wow. This is how the 'newspaper of record' now does it's business.

snailgate