French Cartooning
December 3, 2003 14:01 by ManagingTeamThe cartoonist for Paris’ Libération – who goes by the name of “Willem” – recently made this outrageous portrayal of Ariel Sharon as a butcher, eyeing Yassir Arafat for his shop:
Arafat: It’s not even kosher.
Sharon: Nobody asked for your opinion!
Yesterday Willem turned his grotesque pen against George Bush and American forces in Iraq, spelling out words with American GI’s bodies:
Forget about politics – has this man no human decency?
(Hat tip: Merde)
Friend Of Israel
3:30 pm
Dec 03, 2003
As someone who has no love for Arafat or the French, I would say that I don’t find these cartoons terribly offensive.
Maybe I’ve been dulled by the recent insensitivities of British cartoonists but let’s take a look at these.
The one with Arafat implies that Sharon wants to butcher him. So? Sounds good to me! Had the object of Sharon’s desires in the cartoon been to butcher Arabs in general, then I could certainly understand and agree with the objection.
The second one implies that Iraq has the potential of turning into a military quagmire. I hope it won’t but it could.
I don’t think there’s much to fuss about here. Let’s move on.
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Charlie
7:36 pm
Dec 03, 2003
I think you have been dulled, Friend.
The portrayal of Sharon as a butcher goes beyond this cartoon, to the pages of the European press (opinion and news). Sharon has a butcher SHOP, see, he’s a fulltime butcher by profession, that’s what Israelis are DOING to the Palestinians, the cartoonist is suggesting. Meanwhile Arafat’s ACTUAL direction of the slaughter of Israeli civilians is ignored, or presented as part of a “liberation struggle.”
And regarding the Iraq cartoon – the use of body parts to spell out the message?! Body parts, Friend! Hello !
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Friend Of Israel
11:01 am
Dec 04, 2003
Hi Charlie,
I acknowledge your points on the Sharon/Arafat cartoon. I don’t think I’ve been dulled. I initially failed to recognize the insinuation. Thanks.
As to the Iraq/Vietnam cartoon, indeed those are body parts. And indeed, coaltion members are being blown and shot up in Iraq. The gruesome portrayal is a warning of what the situation might turn out to be if the US is not successful in combatting Iraq’s terrorists and remains bogged down there for longer than was anticipated.
Hello!
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Chaya
9:17 pm
Dec 04, 2003
Well, it’s certainly not as offensive as the one showing Sharon eating a baby but it is in the same genre. As long as these journalists don’t know the facts, they will continue to portary us this way. More journalists like Julie Burchill (I think that’s her last name) are needed who has left The Guardian for its reporting on Israel.
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Pat Mason
2:55 am
Apr 26, 2004
Sharon IS a butcher. So, what’s so “outrageous” about the cartoon?
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