Anti-semitic imagery becomes respectable again - A cartoon roundup from Engage

In some cases, of course, what's involved is simply an upsurge in hysterical anti-Zionism (i.e., systematic bias against Israel, shading off into obsessive hatred and demonization). That's bad enough, in my humble opinion. But in an increasing range of cases even the pretense of drawing a sharp line between anti-Zionist bigotry and expressions of outright anti-semitism is wearing thin.

And even where anti-Zionism really is distinct from anti-semitism (I have long argued that the two need to be analytically distinguished, and in fact they often have genuinely distinct roots in practice), that's not enough to exonerate those who peddle or accept anti-Zionist bias and bigotry. At the very least, the constant demonization of Israel and "Zionism" helps to make demonization of Jews in general increasingly respectable (or at least, as apologists see it, "understandable"), and it is often pretty tempting for the first to spill over into the second in practice ... in ways that these images help to make clear.

=> And as an addendum to the cartoon roundup below, here is another notorious cartoon that is illuminating along the same lines (taken from a useful and important analysis by Tom Gross). It appeared in La Stampa, a major Italian newspaper, as part of the Europe-wide flood of anti-Israel hysteria reacting to Israel's re-invasion of West Bank cities in the spring of 2002.



Baby Jesus: “Surely they don't want to kill me again?!”
(La Stampa, Italy, April 3, 2002)

--Jeff Weintraub
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From the Engage Forum
September 15, 2006
Listen to the world, not the Jew

Here's a cartoon by TREMAIN from the Christchurch Press in New Zealand, 10 August, 2006. It illustrates a letter from R. Dower, who writes

"The world watches as Israel and America commit genocide in Iraq and Lebanon. Any sympathy I had for Jewish victims of the Holocaust has evaporated. Boycott all US and Israeli goods, use embargoes - it is obscene to stand by and do nothing. We must show these bullies they cannot coerce the rest of humanity into submission by force."

On the subject of cartoons, here are the pieces from President Ahmadinejad's Iranian exhibition. Interestingly, the exhibition has been a flop and very few people in Tehran have bothered to go and see them.

And here are some old favourites. The Independent Stars of David and Stripes. And the inspiration for that image, which illustrated Robert Fisk's hagiography of Mearsheimer and Walt, here.

Here is the famous New Statesman "Kosher conspiracy" graphic.
Here is the Guardian's version, showing Europe dominated by a Star of David.
Here is the Independent's Ariel Sharon as baby-eater.
Here is the Guardian's version, showing a pustuled Jewish fist smashing a child's head in.
Here are some cartoons brought to you by the ADL.

And, for comparison, some older favourites here.

(Added by David Hirsh on September 15, 2006 08:22:54 PM.Thanks to Harry's Place and Michaeul Mautner.)