Middle East Cartoons - political cartoons and my thoughts

Mohammed cartoons from Jyllands Posten

2006-02-06T22:57:00.000+02:00

This is the now notorious series of Mohammed cartoons that appeared in Jyllands Posten newspaper in Denmark and has sparked all this Muslim outrage around the world.

This is the first Mohammed cartoon originally published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten. This is what all the outrage is about. Not sure what this Mohammed cartoon is meant to say.

I think this cartoon about Mohammed is meant to say something about the reversal of roles in Muslim society and perhaps the hiding behind Islam of terrorists.

This next cartoon in the infamous Mohammed cartoonn series is really ironic. Here is an artist hiding while drawing a cartoon of Mohammed to avoid being terrorised. Now isn't that exactly what has happened?

From what I understand this Mohammed cartoon basically says "Wait don't worry, they are only Danish infidels. Please correct me if I am wrong.

I have absolutely no idea what this cartoon is saying about Mohammad or Islam. Please tell me if you understand.

In another version of this Mohammad cartoon I saw a caption that said the Mohammad being referred to was actually a boy in class and not the Muslim prophet. Comments?

This next one of the Mohammad cartoons talks about womans freedom (or lack thereof) in Islam and makes some sort of comparison to other religions while addressing Mohammad.

This Mohammad cartoon I think is actually a stab at one of the artists who drew the cartoons about how this can all ultimately be viewed as a publicity stunt. Talk about bad publicity, doubt they envisioned worldwide Muslim riots over these Mohammad cartoons.

I think this Muhammed cartoon is meant to compare Muhammed to Jesus, with the horns on Muhammed being the obvious add in. Not sure, tell me what you think.

This cartoon of Muhammed from Jyllands Posten is exactly the type of thing that the Muslims around the world are so upset about. It knocks their beliefs in a middle east cartoon and depicts Muhammed - 2 big no no's! 2 questions I have heard in the past regarding the virgins promised to Muslim terrorists for killing innocent people are 1)how many virgins are there, if each terrorist (martyr according to some) gets one and 2)what do the women terrorists get?

This one of the Muhammed cartoons is a bit strange and the message evades me, but apparently translates as "I don't recognise him". Something about all these different people looking or being the same as Muhammed with turbans on. Opinions please!

This is one of the Muhammed cartoons that has been referred to the most in this recent spate of outrage by Muslims worldwide (by the way since when is outrage at a foreign newspaper an excuse for voilence and destruction in other countries?). This particular cartoon about Muhammed really offended Muslims becauase it is a direct depiction of Muhammed (and Islam) being violent and promoting violence and death. Draw your own conclusions!

Muslims held hostage

2005-10-20T18:06:00.000+02:00

This cartoon touches on a very interesting point in Muslim society. The fact that for the most part Muslim "moderates" have failed to differentiate themselves from Muslim fundamentalists. Not that I am an expert on Muslim society or Muslim culture but this is how it appears to us outsiders. Cartoon comes care of MidEastTruth and Jim Morin, The Miami Herald, July 21, 2005.

Since September 11 (when the rift between Muslims and the West really widened and Islamaphobia rose dramatically) there seems to have been little effort by Muslim populations to distance themselves from Muslim Fundamentalists. I hope that this is not a function of "Muslims sticking together". This could only be to the detriment of Muslims and everyone else. This makes it extremely difficult for Western society to figure out who is a "moderate" and who is trying to destroy the world as we know it. This in turn contributes to Islamaphobia (other than mass paranoia the other main cause). What I don't understand (perhaps it's a cultural thing) is that Muslim countries and society would be better off everywhere without these Muslim fundamentalists.

I guess the question is: how many "moderates" is it going to take (since we know a majority isn't enough) to change this and how long are Muslim people just concerned with living going to let Muslim radicals and fundamentalists hold them hostage?

Hamas stops firing

2005-09-30T08:10:00.000+02:00

Like so many other Middle East Cartoons about Hamas and Palestinian terrorist groups this cartoon is both funny and sad. It's funny because it sums Hamas (and other terrorist groups) up so well. The cartoon is sad because it's true and unfortunately this is the reality of the Middle East and world today. Thanks to Kevin Kallaugher (Kal), Baltimore, Maryland -- The Baltimore Sun, July 20, 2005 for this great Middle East cartoon. I'm not going to go on (as we all know I can) but leave you with a thought:

The bottom line is that Hamas (and middle east terrorists in general) want everything on their terms and never put aside their agenda. We can not afford to forget who we are dealing with or be fooled by charades of "ceasefires" or "middle east peace accords". Obviously the objective is middle east peace but for ALL SIDES and ALL TIME not just as long as Hamas (and other terrorist groups) feel like it or need it.

I wrote an article recently about Hamas stopping attacks on another blog of mine devoted to Middle East Opinions, read my Middle East opinion about Hamas and their ceasefire here.

New Middle East Cartoons

2005-09-21T22:42:00.000+02:00

I've started a mailing list to alert people to new middle east cartoons on this site. Every time I post a new middle east cartoon I'll send you a quick mail to let you know (no SPAM!). Please subscribe to the alerts and you'll always know when there is a new cartoon!

Palestinian power struggle

2005-09-19T20:13:00.000+02:00

LOL! This cartoon is amusing and scary at the same time. IT manages to hit the nail on the head in so many regards. The basic idea is simple - that there are still so many groups vying for control of Gaza that the Palestinian innocents and "man on the street" are still external to the process and likely to get screwed again by their leaders. (Read some of my thoughts on the Gaza disengagement at Middle East Opinions) The cartoonist (Patrick Chappatte) has done extremely well in his representation of Palestinian politics and attitudes in Gaza. Even so far as to correctly represent the positions and weapon resources of the different Palestinian factions:

Palestinian Authority (PA) is meant to be in charge (represented by them being at the top fighting off the other groups).
Hamas is openly opposing the PA and even has a bigger gun which I think represents their access to weapons and superior Palestinian power base.
Islamic Jihad is coming up from behind but does not have the kind of power that Hamas or the Palestinian Authority does (small gun).

2 things are terribly sad but true in this Middle East Cartoon:

They are fighting on top of a Jewish synagogue (nothing seems to get the Palestinians as excited as desecrating or destroying other people's holy sites.
The Palestinian innocent stands virtually no chance of being involved in the process.

Thanks to Middle East Truth for this great cartoon from Le Temps, Geneva, September 14, 2005.

Middle East theology of murder

2005-08-02T11:25:00.000+02:00

The next cartoon comes thanks to Mike Lester, Rome News-Tribune, Rome, GA from July 26, 2005. I like this middle east cartoon a lot because it addresses a huge problem in muslim society today and touches on two aspects of it.

In this cartoon we see the "fat cat" Imam on the one side of the fence sitting back comfortably on his chair while one of the community members is humbly on his knees apologising for not killing people! Two aspects of this middle east cartoon are brilliant:

The idea of Imam's getting rich and sitting back on their asses while they get ignorant and trusting "normal people" to do their dirty work for them.

The fact that they do not have the balls to do the "dirty work" or killing themselves. This is someone who is meant to be helping the average Muslim to get closer to G-d and lead a better life. Meanwhile they are using their influence and position of trust to send people off to murder innocent victims in the middle east and around the world in the name of G-d!

So, what's the answer - get these murderers to stop preaching inciteful and hateful rhetoric or deal with them appropriately. The closeminded and totalitarian method of teaching in Muslim and most middle east countries is obviously a huge obstacle to this. Take the power to the people!

Muslim fundamentalism exposed

2005-07-28T00:04:00.000+02:00

The next cartoon on the Middle East comes from Bruce Plante, Chattanooga, TN, Chattanooga Times Free Press on July 22, 2005.

This cartoon is absolutely brilliant! It's short and to the point; if blowing yourself up to kill innocent civilians is so amazing then why aren't the "learned" imams doing it. In the Middle East and all around the world (unfortunately this evil has spread) there are muslim clerics preching violence and hatred as the path to G-d. What a load of hogwash!
The sad part is that due to the rigid propaganda system in most muslim and Middle East countries "the man on the street" doesn't stand much of a chance of figuring this out. The argument that they need to teach the masses doesn't even hold a drop of water since there are more than plenty of them teaching in the Middle East and around the world, even in most Western countries.

This cartoon should please G-d become a reality sooner rather than later (and it does seem like the tide is turning against this ridiculous muslim fundamentalist rhetoric) where the muslim masses stand up against hateful murderous imams.

Please post comments!

2005-05-03T22:37:00.000+02:00

Hi All

Welcome (back) to my blog! The idea behind this blog is to review Middle East cartoons and get comments. People then post comments and I get to comment again.

A big THANK YOU to all the visitors to this blog, and for the comments received so far. We need MORE comments! Please spend a bit of time going through some posts and comment (anything) on any post you like. Please tell me what you like and don't like about Middle East Cartoons and what type of Cartoons you would like to see. Please let me know what areas of the Middle East you would like me to focus on. The more feedback and comments you send the better Middle East Cartoons will be!

Thanks.

Over Arafat's dead body

2005-04-29T09:41:00.000+02:00

It is not often that I get to laugh at a cartoon about the Middle East, but this one did make me smile! This cartoon comes courtesy of Jimmy Margulies, New Jersey -- The Record from February 8, 2005. The reason I smiled is pretty obvious. Check it out.....

The point is that not even Yassir Arafat could stop the Middle East Peace process entirely. Let's not kid, he did a helluva lot to halt it, stole billions from the Palestinian people and caused massive casualties and damage (to Israelis and Palestinians) but the process continues. I think there are two important lessons (reminders if you will) in this Arafat story:

G-d is in control not us
It is up to man in the street to exert pressure if leaders are not looking after public interest.

Abbas and the fence

2005-04-22T08:55:00.000+02:00

Much has been said about the revilatised chances for Middle East peace since the appointment of Mahmoud Abbas as leader of the Palestinian Authority. The following cartoon from Steve Breen of The San Diego Union-Tribune, January 13, 2005 is quite clever in its addressing of two issues in one breath. The cartoon highlights Abbas's difference in rhetoric to Palestinian militants and the Arab world and to Israel and the West while using the background of the Israeli security barrier being built.

On the one hand he is being hailed as the leader to resolve the conflict and a Palestinian leader ready to do the work for true and lasting peace. While this is the face he puts forward to Israel and the West, his words and promises to militants seems reminiscent of Arafat rhetoric. It was for much too long that the world ignored the "two faces of Arafat", one for Palestinians and one for Israel. The result of this was that emphasis was on the argument about the merits of Arafat as a leader to bring peace (when it was obvious he was only a terrorist interested in his own gain), and the emphasis of all efforts should have been on dealing with the roots of the problem e.g. Palestinian propaganda. Either way the point is that for the sake of all of us I pray that Abbas does not try and follow in the footsteps of Arafat (in any way!), and if he does I pray that the world does not fall for it this time.

Arafat finally helps Middle East peace

2005-04-20T16:40:00.000+02:00

The next cartoon is from Robert Ariail, The State, South Carolina February 9, 2005.

As funny as this cartoon may be it needs a slight correction. The reason that we find a cartoon like this about the Middle East and Arafat funny is because we recognise the true part he played in the peace process - halting it! This having been said I think the cartoon is very witty and plays on the idea of Arafat's "involvement" in the Middle East peace process. In retrospect I think it is fairly obvious to all observers that Arafat was not only NOT a true partner for peace, but an active participant in terror and violence.

By no stretch of the imagination would it be fair to say that Arafat contributed anything positive to the process. I think it more fitting to say that Arafat has now been removed as an obstacle to the Middle East peace process. In other words his death removed a negative as opposed to him positively contributing anything. Other than this small distinction I think this cartoon rocks!

Peace is for the willing

2005-03-15T18:31:00.000+02:00

The next cartoon by Daryl Cagle, Slate.com from February 9, 2005 focuses on George W Bush's role in the middle east peace process.

I have chosen to comment on the idea of external involvement rather than America's role only. It is very hopeful that so many countries and organsiations want peace in the middle east and are willing to try and help. Aside from the fact that many of the "concerned" parties are only involved for their own political agendas or for the appearance of caring, there is something very imprtant to bear in mind.......

.....we can not force peace on people that do not want it. So to speak to the cartoon, even if there were an unlimited number of quivers with an infinite number of arrows there is only so much that can be done externally. Peace is ultimately for the willing and only the willing. Perhaps more world efforts should be focused on addressing the root problems, attitudes and misconceptions than rather trying to force the leaders into agreements that the people are not prepared to accept.

Middle east opinions

2005-03-15T10:42:00.000+02:00

I was looking through my posts and the comments I receive and I realise that many of my posts are too long. This blog was always meant to focus on middle east cartoons and my thoughts on them. In most of my posts I get very carried away with my opinion of the middle east region and its politics. Therefore.....

....I have decided to create a blog for my opinion and other peoples' opinions about the middle east. From now on "Middle East Cartoons" will have cartoons and short posts. My new blog will have longer posts (sorry no cartoons!) and feature mine and other opinions.
So without any futher adue, intro to "Middle East Opinions". Enjoy the new (and old) blog!

Marc K

Peace in the middle east

2005-03-14T08:34:00.000+02:00

I was looking through middle east cartoons to review and a thought struck me - all (at least most) of the most recent cartoons focus on the leaders only. I know that satirical cartoons are most often targeted at leadership (especially since they are so often responsible for these situations), but we must not forget the man in the street. Since the beginning of the year all attention has been focused on Israel (represented by Ariel sharon), Palestine and Palestinians (represented by Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas) and America (represented by George W Bush or an American symbol.

This is all great and wonderful and these may be the "main players" on the political and world stage but in the bulk of cases and facets to the Arab-Israeli conflict, peace will not come from these leaders. This I believe to be the case for a multitude of reasons. Two of the most relevant are:

Much of the rethoric coming from these leaders is promoting terrorism. Even in the case of Abbas much of what he has promised to different factions of the Palestinians is "arguably" counter-productive to true peace.

Secondly and most importantly the true day to day environment of the middle east will be dictated by the opinions of the man in the street and not the leadership. Leaders may be able to start a process or initiate change but only the man in the street can see it through to success.

Implicit in the above overly simplified version of things are some assumptions, including that leaders do what is best for their people (if things were this simple I wouldn't even have a blog about the middle east!), community leaders encourage peace and tolerance as do religious leaders (that means ALL, not just the "moderate" leaders). There are too many cases of mosques preaching violence and hate as the only answer and too many allowances for "non-moderate" or "hard-line" factions.

Legal issues and thank you

2005-03-09T17:15:00.000+02:00

I just want to take a moment and thank those sites who have let me comment on their cartoon or cartoons about the middle east. I try to get permission from all parties before using them but in some cases I have not. I am still working on contacting all the artists involved to get permission (or at least alert them to my use of their cartoon). This is not always possible and often takes time. To those sites that I have not gotten permission yet, thank you so much!

In all cases a BIG THANK YOU! If you are unhappy about the way any material has been used please contact me, otherwise enjoy!

Hamas and middle east peace

2005-03-09T17:06:00.000+02:00

This cartoon is great because it is in colour!

Like so many other observers Mr Bennet also sees Hamas as a huge obstacle to the middle east peace process. I'll try be short with my post! There are two things here that I wonder about:

1. Are people aware that there are other elements as bad (maybe even worse) than Hamas? Importance of this being that we do not only address Hamas as the problem. This is a manifestation and we need to address the underlying problem - intolerance and the idea of violence against civilians as a justified political means.

2. Other than simply "observing" Hamas as a problem, will anyone actually do anything about them? (and others like them)

Cartoon is thanks to Clay Bennett, The Christian Science Monitor, Boston February 9, 2005.

New Features

2005-03-08T22:40:00.000+02:00

I've added links to some middle east sites and a blogroll! Check them out on the left hand side.

Ariel Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas shake hands

2005-03-08T16:58:00.000+02:00

I quite like this cartoon. I think it very cleverly captures aspects of the situation that are not often focused on by the world. While Sharon and Abbas may have shaken hands there is still a lot going on between the two of them in terms of dynamics. This is a new "partnership" - Abbas and Sharon. With Arafat there was an existing dynamic to the relationship but with Abbas now in power the dynamic is still unsettled. Niether leader wants to be seen as "conceding" too much or being too "hard". So while the world watches the handshakes and feels all warm and fuzzy about the prospect of peace, those in the know understand that this is a much more complicated hand shake than appears! Cartoon is thanks to Mike Lane, Baltimore, Maryland, The Baltimore Sun February 9, 2005.

Arafat and the middle east peace process

2005-03-08T10:19:00.000+02:00

Another cartoon from MidEastTruth.com. This time the topis is Yassir Arafat and his part (or lack thereof) in the peace process. This cartoon is by Doug MacGregor, Ft. Myers, FL, The Ft. Myers News-Press
November 15, 2004. It very aptly depicts Arafat's constant attempts to hamper the middle east peace process and prevent a resolve to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Chossing to perpetuate the violence for his own means, not the sake of his people (Egyptians) or the Palestinians. Arafat's payoff was to the tune of Billions of Dollars intended for the Palestinians. Either way money can't help him anymore, in fact niether can lies! Very simply put the best thing Arafat ever did for the chance of peace in the middle east was to pass on.

Hamas and the peace process

2005-03-08T08:34:00.000+02:00

This is the first cartoon I am reviewing from MidEastTruth.com. Many of the recent cartoons focus on Hamas and their involvement in the peace process (never thought I'd say that in the same sentence!). Let's just clarify what I mean. I don't mean that Hamas will take an active part in the peace process but rather how hard they will try to derail it. This cartoons speaks to the same idea as many of the recent cartoons about Hamas. I like the way this has been depicted, very clever imagery exposing Hamas as external and reactvie to the process. This cartoon was done by Mike Keefe, The Denver Post February 9, 2005. Anyway here it is....

MidEastTruth

2005-03-08T08:29:00.000+02:00

I found a great site devoted to stopping terrorism and spreading the truth about the Middle East. The site is run by a small team of citizens from different countries. I have not spent that much time on the site yet but they have some great cartoons! Give them some traffic - Visit MidEastTruth
I am going to go through a few of the cartoons later so keep checking.

I'm back!

2005-03-07T12:23:00.000+02:00

Hi All

Hope you missed me!

I have been so hectic with other projects that I was unable to keep this blog up to date. This blog is more of a "hobby" for me - a way to escape for a few minutes during a hectic day!

Wow! So much has happened since we last blogged.

Arafat dies
Arafat died and then didn't and then died and then didn't and then finally died. That's not even to speak of the lies surrounding the cause of his death (AIDS is one of the most popular theories on the street!). Someone made the comment to me that it was a fitting death (in terms of the lies) for someone who had devoted his life to lies. He could never tell the truth in life and even in death his name was associated with lies. It was shocking to see his family and aides fighting amongst each other and trying to get their grubby little paws on his money (i.e. the money he stole from the Palestinians) before it was too late.

Palestinian elections
Elections were held and a new leader elected. The elections were "free and fair" according to the world but Israel's presence on the border was "unsettling". That is a problem but the same South Africans who made the comments accept last Zimbabwean election and free and fair and "totally without incident". Well, love may be blind to colour (and political alliances) but diplomacy sure aint!

Mahmoud Abbas
After a long wait Abbas is the new PLO and PA leader. Looks to provide more of a chance than Arafat but let's wait and see. The key now is that there has to be a significant reduction in bombing attempts (remember that 90% of attempts are stopped) before there will be any real hope for a "meaningful" peace.

Gaza disengagement
What a hotly contested issue! Votes and votes and finally it loks like Sharon gets his way! I am still unsure as to exactly where I stand on this. One thing I do know is that the idea of Jews kicking Jews out of Jewish land leaves a bad taste in my mouth (almost as bad as the idea od Jews fighting against the IDF).

Anyway that's me for the moment.
I have some new cartoons to review (mostly from last year) and will begin on them this week. Feel free to comment and let me know your thoughts.

Till next time!

Marc K

Starting point for negotiations

2004-09-03T15:46:00.000+02:00

I think the below cartoon (from Steve Benson) is meant to be take a knock at the assisination of Sheik Yassin the murderer. I have chosen to speak about it in a different light.

A message that we can take from the cartoon is about the starting point for negotiations. In a world where Israel can do no right and is not allowed to protect itself negotiations can almost never result in anything meaningful or productive. Yassin was no innocent, in fact he was much more than a militant. Not only did he devote his life to murder and death (of innocents) he also focused much of his efforts on convincing other people to do the same. We can see so many levels of terrorism and intentional destruction in Yassin's life and his deeds (sins is more apt) that only a blind, deaf, senile person that has been stranded on a desert island for the last 50 years could even hope to claim Yassin an innocent. There must have been so many intellectual hurdles that Yassin had to cross to be able to spout the rethoric that he did. The message that I would like to emphasize from this cartoon is the following:
Only when the Arab world understands that they are subject to the same rules as everyone else and those they impose on the rest of the world is there a true chance of peace. When Palestinians and other fundamentalists understand that they cannot operate entirely out of the law and expecet no consequence. The time that people fear terrorism and give into if for the sake of the greater good is now passed. Terrorists can no longer act with complete malovelence targetting civilians and more and expect that the country in question will take it lying down. We need to stand up and shout loud to the four corners of the earth "we are united for the greater good and will not tolerate your attempts to destroy what we have worked so hard for". Terrorists must know that if they implore every vicious tactic under the sun to try and kill innocents for the sake of their own extremist objectives then they should expect serious and swift retribution.

Yassin can sin no more

2004-09-03T13:18:00.000+02:00

I finished going through the middle east cartoons on Witty World and have decided to move on. A big thanks to Witty World for the cartoons and for the chance to comment. If you have not looked at the site please do.

The good news is that I am now on my next site. This is Political Humour from About.com. This was the number one site on Google for the term "middle east cartoons". Anyway back to the cartoon in question.

The cartoon for today is about Yassin who was a true terrorist and thankfully is no longer with us. This comes from Mike Lester.

This cartoon touches on perspective. It is very easy to stand by on a high moral horse and talk about utopian solutions to problems that are not our own. Too often in recent times people have tried to push their idealist "solutions" onto real-world problems and conflicts with little thought to the consequence of these actions. Too often it is a case of preserving their perceived moral integrity rather than truly being moral or trying to actually improve the world. Thanks to many things today (mostly the media) we suffer from almost global desensitisation to conflicts and suffering. For this reason it has become very easy for people to separate the intellectual aspect of a problem and try and deal with it only intellectually never feeling the pain of the situation or considering the parties involved and their perspectives. In most cases the "intellectuals" respond to these issues on an emotional level while maintaining to be objective. This creates a terrible situation whereby we don't empathise or feel any responsibility to help but maintain we are objectively looking at the situation while simply having our heart strings tugged at the whim of the media. On top of this people hardly ever make the parallels (or correct) between other situations and their own which results in many people fighting many issues separately instead of many people fighting a few issues together. Unfortunately it is usually only when we are subject to the same experience that we understand the situation truly and can see from other people's perspective. I urge you to look up again at the cartoon and think about my comments. We all know Yassin was a piece of $#^% that devoted his life to the murder of innocents. He has been dead long before the assination. The day he chose to devote his life to murder is the day that he gave it up (whether you like to think of this on a physical or meta-physical level).

Enough already

2004-08-31T09:05:00.000+02:00

The next cartoon comes from someone named Effat from Egypt. It is in colour which is a good change but unfortunately the colour alone can not even nearly compensate for the ridiculous content. This is another one of the recently popular digs at Jews and the "Jewish conspiracy" controlling world events.

The cartoon is clearly blaming Israel and/or Jews for any actions that America has taken that Effat does not agree with. Presumably this refers to recent world events like the Afghanistani and Iraqi wars. No doubt Effat believes the Jews were entirely behind this. Perhaps Jews were the ones to originally encourage Saddam Hussein to pursue weapons of mass destruction and a regime of self immortalisation and persecution. I have seen too often in recent times an opinion especially in countries like Egypt and Iran that anything the world does that Muslim states do not agree with must have been the Jews. I am quite surprised at the ego of this claim and the acclaim to the Jews. The idea that Jews would devote their lives to causing trouble for a population almost 100 times their size is ever so slightly hard to swallow. For most of time the Jews have just been trying to get people to leave them alone so that they could get on with their lives in peace. The thought that everything Jews do is motivated by a hate for another people is a joke and it is enough already!. Instead of pointing fingers and looking for the dots of the secret conspiracy take the time to understand the situation and focus on changing what is in your control. However, flattering the idea that Jews run the world, it is ridiculous, damaging and just plain enough. All this is is a modern day version of blood libels and dark ages stories of Jewish conspiracies. This was the last cartoon I have commented on from Witty World. Thanks to them for the cartoons and please visit them through this link to see the full collection of middle east cartoons.

Palestinian elections?

2004-08-31T08:51:00.000+02:00

The next cartoon is also by Jimmy Margulies, USA. This deals with the topic of elections for the Palestinian leadership. The cartoon depicts Arafat as announcing his running for re-election and that the rules have been shifted into his favour. This is a particuarly funny cartoon as the notion of Arafat holding another set of elections does not look good. Especially now with his support at such a low amongst the Palestinians.

Have a look at the other cartoons on this page - Click here.
It is true that Arafat was elected to be the head of the Palestinian Authority. The part most people forget is that he chose not to have another set of elections! For this reason (amongst others) I laugh everytime I hear the phrases "President Arafat" or "democratically elected" when referrring to Arafat. This was part of a strategy to legitimise Arafat's leadership (oxymoron) in the eyes of the world and add to the appearance of order and democaracy in Palestinian controlled areas.

Sickening

2004-08-26T12:04:00.000+02:00

The next cartoon from Brian Gable, Canada is a joke I have seen repeated many times in cartoon form over the last few years. The fact that a society can have such a distorted perspective of the future and the future of its youth is scary. The fact that the world has become so blase about it, is sickening.

This cartoon illustrates well two important points:

What children in many Islamic fundamentalist societies are taught to aspire to
Terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda (and the Palestinian Authority) view their youth simply as a means to its own end

Imagine if in all Islamic societies children were taught to aspire to great things (killing civilians does not count) and focus on the rewards they can enjoy from this world without having to blow themselves up for the next. This would be a society that understood that peace and cooperation were in its own best interests and that violence only begets more violence. This would have to begin with the Islamic leadership and would need to come from secular and religious "leaders" in the community. This would take many years to accomplish in deeply propaganded societies like the Palestinian and actually effect change societal collective. All the more reason to begin now so that there is a chance for a meaningful peace in the world in the future.

Motivation of the people

2004-08-26T08:51:00.000+02:00

It has been awhile since my last post and I would like to thank everyone for their comments so far. The below cartoon is another from Jimmy Margulies, USA. This was also found on Witty World.

This cartoon has a simple message and one that is conveyed quite effectively in the cartoon. The author is asking the question what will bring about a Palestinian state? This is a cartoon that speaks not to the emotions we feel when viewing stories about Israel but to the facts and motivation behind the Palestinian drive for a state. When one considers the rhetoric of Palestinian leaders to the people, sermons in mosques calling for the destruction of Israel, the Palestinian's refusal to compromise, plus the violence itself it becomes obvious that Palestinian statehood is not the aim. This is simply the means. The aim is the end of the Jewish State using the Palestinian cause as the excuse. If we look at groups like Hamas and Al-Aqsa it is blatant that they have no interest in a shared existence or mutual cooperation for the future. Their only interest is the destruction of Israel and the killing of Jews (bring on the virgins!). The unfortunate reality we face today is that through 3 generations of Palestinian propoganda we now find a generation of children believing that Israel stole their country (Israel was established as a Jewish State hundreds of years plus before Islam was founded) and that violence is the only way. This generation does not even have the opportunity of wisdom from their parents as they too were brainwashed by PA propoganda.

Palestinian culture

2004-08-17T22:23:00.000+02:00

The next cartoon is a joke about being in the "civilized world". In this case it is talking about being amongst Palestinian suicide bombers. The satire is obviously in the phrase "civilized world" as no objective opinion would regard the targeting of civilians by strapping bombs on as civilised.

The fact that Arafat regards suicide bombers as a legitimate means to try and bring about the destruction of the State of Israel is well known. That it is so well known that political satire can be funny when dealing with it is absolutely scary! The scariest part for me is the fact that with Arafat's igniting of violence well documented, people still demand that Israel negotiate with him. Israel might as well negotiate with terrorist groups like Hamas (formed to destroy Israel and openly stating that only violence is acceptable). Unfortunately I have heard more and more people suggest ridiculous ideas like this out of desperation for an end to the violence. I've used a few cartoons from Witty World so here is the full link to this page. It is a pretty mixed selection of opinions.

Almost supernatural blog

2004-08-17T17:18:00.000+02:00

Since my last post was so long, I have decided to go with a shorter post this time. This is actually a link to another blog that I find very useful. This is a blog called "Almost Supernatural" which focuses on the current situation in Israel and the media's take on events. With links to South African, Israeli, Palestinian and international media, this site is a great resource. There are also links to goverment websites and more. The author is a great writer with a brilliantly dry sense of humour. Follow this link to see the blog for yourself. Let me know your thoughts!

Israel's motivation

2004-08-17T09:03:00.000+02:00

I am not 100% sure what the message here is meant to be. It obviously blames Israel but for what I am not exactly sure. It might be the conflict, the lack of a country called Palestine, the suffering of the Palestinian people or the incompetence of the PLO in combating terrorism and furthering the cause of the Palestinians. Either way here is the cartoon followed by my thoughts.

This cartoon from Seyran Caferli of Azerbaijan is another attempt at evoking an emotional response to the situation and putting the blame squarely on Israel. The ambiguity of the message in terms of what Israel is to blame for might even be intentional. Create a greater emotional response by appealing to a wider audience. The more messages that might be in the cartoon the more people will be able to relate to the "alleged" efforts of Israel to thwart the Palestinian cause. The suggestions raised in this cartoon are almost equally ridiculous and counter productive. Let's look closer. Considering the filename says "PLO flag" it seems most likely that it was referring to PLO and PA efforts and Israel standing in their way. If the intention is to blame Israel for the failure of the PLO and/or PA to put an end to the violent campaign of terrorism waged by the Palestinians then it is laughable. Aside from the now huge infrastructure that the PA has in areas like Judea and Sameria including weapons and intelligence, the PA has openly condoned the violence and even encouraged it. One only needs to look at what Arafat says in Arabic media (kill, kill, kill) to see the real cause for this conflict. Israel and most Western countries have given the PA Billions of dollars in aid, weapons and infrastructure. Most of this money was earmarked for stopping terrorism, reversing the brainwashing of Palestinians (also thanks to Arafat), and improving life for the Palestinians. In reality most of this money has been used for only two things: buying weapons and making Arafat rich. In context it is ridiculous to blame Israel for PA failures when they try so hard to fail! It is also counter productive to the Palestinian cause as it focuses emotions against Israel instead of on a solution. A solution to any problem can only come about when the cause of the problem is identified and dealt with. If we keep telling the Palestinians they are doing nothing wrong and condone their continued murder of civilians they will never look at themselves for blame. With any continued conflict blame must exist on both sides even if to different degrees. Without acknowledging their attacks on Israel for what they truly are - attempts to destroy a country and a people - there is very little chance of them doing the work required for a meaningful peace in the region. Israel has sent many different leaders to speak to Arafat each with different viewpoints and offering different solutions (even with Barak offering 90-something percent of Palestinian demands at Camp David including East Jerusalem). Through the last few decades the Israeli leaders have changed and made peace with all neighbours in the region except for the Palestinians. The idea that Israel devotes its resources to trying to destroy the Palestinians is crazy considering that Israel was being built up by the Jews hundreds of years (or more) before the Palestinians even existed as a people. The reality is that Arafat has said no time and time again. The question should not be "What Israeli leader can make peace?" but "Why do people still think speaking to Arafat will help when he has so clearly shown his true colours time and time again?". More harm has been done to the Palestinian cause by people like Arafat and his strategy of murder than anything Israel may have done.

On with the blogging

2004-08-12T23:23:00.000+02:00

For my second blog.....

This cartoon plays on the different mentalities in different societies and in particular the difference between Western and Palestinian attitudes towards children and violence. Whereas in the West children taking up arms is viewed as an abnormality in society and something needing to be addressed immediately, it is often encouraged in Palestinian society.

The beginning of Middle East Cartoons!

2004-08-12T22:56:00.000+02:00

To start this blog off I decided to search for "Middle East Cartoons" and look at the top sites. One of these was wittyworld.com and I found a page of interesting cartoons. This is one from that page by Glenn McCoy.
If the image doesn't work here is the link to the page - link. This is a great depiction of Arafat's involvement in suicide bombings and in many cases (at least) his knowledge of the attack before it happens. Arafat's own Fatah movement has been very open about its involvement in suicide bombings and condoning of all violence against Israel. This cartoon's humour hinges on the fact that it is widely known that Palestinian terrorism is a much more coordinated effort than some would have us believe. Perhaps and hopefully the day will come soon where a cartoon like this is no longer amusing.