Sharon eating babies

The UK's Political Cartoon Society honored a cartoon depicting a naked Ariel Sharon biting off the bloodied head of a Palestinian child.

"Sharon eating babies" cartoon wins British prize

By Ellis Shuman November 27, 2003
http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Diplomacy/3020.htm

The United Kingdom's Political Cartoon Society selected a cartoon published by The Independent in January depicting a naked Ariel Sharon biting off the bloodied head of a Palestinian child as helicopter warships hovered overhead blasting out "Vote Sharon" from loudspeakers as its "Cartoon of the Year." In his acceptance speech, cartoonist Dave Brown thanked the Israeli Embassy in London for its angry reaction to the cartoon, which he said had contributed greatly to its publicity.

Immediately after the cartoon was originally published, the Israeli Embassy lodged an official protest. In response, The Independent, considered the most pro-Palestinian of all British publications, published the cartoon a second time on its front page, along with responses both for and against. Now the Israeli Foreign Ministry is considering if it can take any legal actions against the British paper, Maariv reported.

The baby-eating cartoon, which Brown said was based on Francesco de Goya's 1819 painting of "Saturn Devouring One of His Children," was published in The Independent on January 27, Britain's Holocaust Memorial Day, and was penned after a raid by IDF missiles on Gaza City just before the Israeli general elections.

The cartoon reportedly bears a striking similarity to the cartoon that appeared in the official Palestinian newspaper al-Quds on May 17, 2001, where Sharon is depicted devouring children for breakfast.

Brown's cartoon was one of 35 entries in the British Political Cartoon Society's annual competition, which is sponsored by The Independent. Brown, 45, who started his career on The Sunday Times in 1989 and has worked for many British publications, is a cartoonist on The Independent's staff.

"The prize was presented after a vote by the members of the Political Cartoon Society and national newspaper cartoonists. It was presented by the former cabinet minister Clare Short on Tuesday night at the headquarters of The Economist in London," The Independent reported.

Ned Temko, editor of the British publication, the Jewish Chronicle, said of the Independent's cartoon: "It is one of the oldest images of European anti-Semitism - the classic 'blood libel' of Jews murdering gentile children for their blood."

Suitable for 'Der Sturmer'
In January, Shuli Davidovich, the Israeli Embassy in Britain's press secretary, wrote to The Independent: "As Britain commemorates National Holocaust Day, I am shocked that The Independent has chosen to evoke an ancient Jewish stereotype which would not have looked out of place in 'Der Sturmer', and which can unfortunately still be found in many Arabic newspapers.

"The blood-thirsty imagery not only misrepresents the real reason for the IDF's [Israeli Defense Forces] operations in Gaza, but also feeds the hostility toward Israel and the Jewish people which lies at the very core of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

"One must be extremely careful to draw the line between legitimate criticism and the anti-Semitism that often parades as such," she wrote.

The British Press Complaints Commission found in March that the cartoon did not breach its code after it received dozens of complaints.

"The most vile stereotypes imaginable"
"This image conjures up some of the most vile stereotypes imaginable," said American Jewish Committee Executive Director David A. Harris. "Not only should this grotesque cartoon never have been honored, but it should never have been published in the first place by The Independent. It is not about legitimate political criticism. It is all about incitement against a people," Harris said.

Protesting the cartoon award, Robin Dienstman wrote on the Political Cartoon Society message board: "It isn't a requirement for a political cartoon to be fair and unbiased. The very nature of cartooning is to take a stand on a subject. However, the message that Dave Brown's cartoon is sending is one of hatred and genocide. Instead of honoring it, you should have stood up to it and denounced it. If it had been Arafat instead of Sharon in the picture you wouldn't have hesitated to call this 'cartoon' exactly what it is; a tool of the basest kind of racism."

Minister for Diaspora Affairs Natan Sharansky said Brown's cartoon "is just like Nazi propaganda. These characterizations lead to hatred of Jews, and could lead to another Holocaust. It could cause more people to believe that to kill Jews is legitimate, because Jews are inhuman."