MANFRED GERSTENFELD INTERVIEWS JOEL KOTEK ON ARAB ANTI-SEMITIC CARTOONS…….
Posted on 04/10/2011 by KGS
Remember
folks, the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation pushes the false notion of
“Islamofauxbia”, at the same time it denies that
any Muslim, good or bad, can engage in anti-Semitic
behavior. This extraordinary acknowledgement has yet to be highlighted in a
significant way. KGS
Major Anti-Semitic
Motifs in
Arab Cartoons
An Interview with Joël
Kotek by Manfred Gerstenfeld
“The
collective image of the Jews created by Arab cartoons lays the groundwork for a
possibility of genocide. One can argue about whether these genocidal ideas are
conscious or subconscious.”
Dr.
Joël Kotek, a political scientist, is professor at the Free University of
Brussels. He has collected many thousands of anti-Semitic cartoons, mainly from
Arab media. These cartoons not only target Israel, but aim at all Jews. His
research resulted in a book titledCartoons and Extremism: Israel and the
Jews in Arab and Western media.
Kotek
stresses that in a world where image plays a central role, the cartoon has
become a popular and efficient means of communication. A caricature may have as
much influence on public opinion as an editorial.
He
adds: “The main recurrent theme in these cartoons is ‘the devilish Jew.’ By
extension, this image suggests that the Jewish religion must be diabolic, and
the entire Jewish people evil. These cartoons convey the idea that Jews behave
like Nazis, leading readers to conclude that the only logical solution is their
elimination. As the Arab world has become increasingly convinced of these
ideas, they have no inhibitions showing them on a multitude of websites.”
Several
hundred Arab cartoons from Kotek’s collection are categorized according to
anti-Semitic themes in his book: “The first theme is based on the oldest
anti-Semitic motif, demonization of the Jew. The Jew is depicted as inhuman and
an enemy of humanity. This dehumanization is necessary to justify the hoped for
elimination.
“On 28
December 1999 – well before the second Palestinian uprising – Al-Hayat
al-Jadida, the official Palestinian Authority journal, published a cartoon
expressing this core idea. It depicted an old man in a djellaba,
symbolizing the twentieth century, taking leave of a young man wearing a
tee-shirt symbolizing the twenty-first century. In between them stood a small
Jew with a Star of David on his breast, above which an arrow pointed to him
saying, ‘the illness of the century.’
A
second central theme in anti-Semitic cartoons is the Jew as a murderer of God.
“This is originally a Christian motif. This representation by Muslims serves in
efforts to obtain the sympathy of some Christians by adapting one of their
central myths.
“Another
major motif is Israel as a Nazi state. This is based on two contradictory
allegations, which the Islamists try to reconcile. Their first claim is that
the Shoah never happened. Their second contention is that if it did, it has
caused more damage to the Palestinians because they believe they are being
treated worse than the Nazis treated the Jews.’
Kotek remarks: “The next motif – zoomorphism – is a
very common theme throughout the world. To abuse one’s adversaries, one dehumanizes
them by turning them into animals. In Nazi, Soviet and Romanian caricatures,
the Jew is often depicted as a spider, perceived as an evil animal. The two
other predominant anti-Semitic zoomorphic motifs are the blood-thirsty vampire
and the octopus. The vampire image is a classic theme used by anti-Semites. I
have not found any other people besides the Jews represented as such. This
genocide-preparing design originates in Christian imagination. The Arab
cartoonists often follow the Nazis as far as the bestial representation of the
Jews is concerned. The messages transmitted are that the Jews are destructive,
inhuman and evil.
“The fifth anti-Semitic motif in Arab cartoons echoes
the classic conspiracy theme, that ‘the Jews control the world.’ Israel’s
opponents allege that the Jews dominate the United States. By implication, they
also claim that the Jews are the ‘masters of the world’ – a classic conspiracy
theme exploited by the Nazis.” The following caricature by Bendib an American
caricaturist of Algerian origin illustrates this:
“Yet another major theme in Arab cartoons is the
blood-loving or blood-thirsty Jew. This motif also originates in Christian
anti-Semitism. In today’s Arab world this image of unbridled hatred has mutated
into the alleged quest for Palestinian blood. There are so many of these
cartoons that I could select only a few for my book. Blood-drinking Jews are
frequently shown by Al Ahram, one of Egypt’s leading dailies. On 21
April 2001, it printed a cartoon showing an Arab being put into a flatting mill
by two soldiers wearing helmets with Stars of David. The Arab’s blood pours out
and two Jews with kippot and Stars of David on their shirts
drink the blood laughingly.
“Another recurring anti-Semitic theme in Arab cartoons
is the most extreme. The concept that the Jews not only murder, but preferably
target children, is what the cartoonists try to convey through their imagery.
This depicts the Palestinians primarily as children or babies.”
Kotek
concludes that these caricatures often express a new type of anti-Semitism.
“They are frequently ‘calls for murder.’ To the cartoonists, death seems the
only worthy punishment that ‘the Zionist enemy’ merits.”