During an appearance on CNN’s Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer, the Saudi Ambassador to the US, Prince Turki Al-Faisal (pictured) found his feet on fire as Blitzer pressed the ambassador on anti-semitic cartoons published in the Saudi media. The prince was also questioned about the absence of Muslim protest against the images seen on hostage videos:
BLITZER: Here’s what a lot of Americans and westerners in general don’t understand. They certainly understand that there could be anger as a result of this cartoon of the prophet Mohammed, but they don’t understand why there isn’t greater anger, for example, at the video that was seen on Al Jazeera of the American journalist, this young woman, Jill Carroll, who was seen weeping surrounded by masked gunmen.
Why doesn’t a picture like that generate the kind of anger in the Arab and Muslim world that you might think should be — it should generate because it’s such an awful, awful situation?
AL-FAISAL: Well, I wish I could tell you. It would take some study to do that, but, again, that picture, as you say, did not generate anger in non-Muslims as well. We didn’t see demonstrations taking place in the streets of Washington or Los Angeles or wherever this young lady came from, nor in other non-Muslim places and countries. It is something I simply cannot answer, Wolf.
BLITZER: Here’s the other thing that a lot of Americans and Westerners in general also see a double standard. They see some the cartoons that have been published in Saudi newspapers, and we’ll show of them right now. Very offensive to Westerners and to — specifically to Jews, and I’m going to show some of them. I want you to take a look at them as well.
For example, this one shows a fat — it looks like an Israeli with a Star of David. That’s supposed to be blood and little children and that Israeli is supposedly drinking that blood. That’s a pretty offensive cartoon.
Let me put up…
AL-FAISAL: Can I ask where that was shown?
BLITZER: That was shown in a newspaper called Al-Youm on December 4th, 2005. Are you familiar with that newspaper?
AL-FAISAL: Yes, I’m familiar with the newspaper, not familiar with the cartoon.
BLITZER: All right, let me show you another one. This one is a Nazi swastika over the Star of David. Given the history of the Holocaust, clearly very offensive.
Let me put another one up there. This shows Orthodox, Hasidic Jew, basically manipulating terrorists, tying the kafiyah together, and it shows that hook nose, a very, a very ugly portrayal of a Jew.
And I’ll show you one final one, and then we can talk about this. You see this sign, “born to kill,” over the Star of David.
These are all in Saudi publications, Al-Watan, Al-Youm, and they go on and on and on, and it’s a source of great concern. You understand that.
AL-FAISAL: Well, of course, and I think they are offensive. And if I were in charge of the newspapers, I would not let that happen.
You have to take into account, though, that the issue of Palestine and the unresolved issue of Palestine is a generator of most of this feeling that we have in the Arab world, particularly towards Israel. And this is something that you, Wolf, have dealt with before and quite evenhandedly and quite open-mindedly. And the need for resolution of that problem, I think, will go a long way to meeting the requirements of things like that not happening.
