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Is Pat Oliphant's cartoon anti-Semitic? (Poll Closed)

Yes, it stirs up hatred for Jews 85% (2,971 votes)

No, it criticizes Israel, not Jews 12% (420 votes)

Unsure 3% (117 votes)

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Total Votes: 3,508



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3 Comments
J David
2009-03-26 17:58:44 ET

Of course it is. The vast majority of the people reading it are going to apply their own template to their interpretation of the cartoon (as is generally true of cartoons/comedy especially), and that template is composed largely of pop culture memes driven by a slavishly liberal MSM. Liberalism, whatever name it goes by worldwide, Leftism, socialism, communism, fascism, authoritarianism, statism, etc., is notoriously anti-Semitic historically. We are arriving at the day America curses itself by turning against it only democratic ally, ideologically, in the Middle East.
Most non-pundit, non-writers-for-a-living don't sit around rationalizing this kind of overt symbolic attack on Jews. They look at it, and their views are again re-enforced, or actively shaped by the propaganda mills already shaping their opinions.

bill edwards
2009-03-26 18:07:10 ET

Given his history there is no other way to see it.

Jala
2009-03-26 21:07:00 ET

It isn't antisemitic. I don't buy the comparison of Israeli's to Nazis, but why is it that any criticism of Israel is dubbed as antisemitism? If opposing Israel's actions in the occupied territories including the recent incidents of abuse (wanton killing of civilians in Gaza) brought to light even by Jpost, is antisemitic, then most moral people are antisemitic. Inflating the term results in it losing its value and then I wonder what you'd call the real Jew haters (Neo-naizis, Christian fundamentalists, Islamic extremists, etc). Super Antisemites? or radical Antisemites perhaps?:-)
The cartoon used shocking imagery to express outrage and this isn't new. The cartoon depicts a soldier pushing forward a symbol which represents Israel's march into Gaza as an act of aggression and nothing more. If the cartoonist used racist stereotypes of Jews (Hook noses etc), hinted at a world wide Jewish conspiracy or used antisemitic propaganda of the sort used by fascists, then I'd be calling for him to be fired. All the fake outrage expressed on this blog over some television presenter wearing a scarf that looks like a Kiffayeh, Obama's connections with the Palestinian scholar Khalidi and now this cartoon is sickening.


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