Iranian Newspaper Launches Holocaust Cartoon Contest
Don’t take the bait! I know, I know, it’s the Holocaust, but please, just this once, don’t take the bait!
A prominent Iranian newspaper says it is going to hold a competition for cartoons on the Holocaust to test whether the West will apply the principle of freedom of expression to the Nazi genocide against Jews as it did to the caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed.
Hamshahri, which is among the top five of Iran’s mass circulation papers, made clear the contest is a reaction to European newspapers’ publication of Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, which have led to demonstrations, boycotts and attacks on European embassies across the Islamic world.
Full story.
Update: Danish paper responsible for caricatures of Mohammad seeks to co-publish Holocaust cartoons as well. Maybe this is just a secret plot to energize a moribund print newspaper industry!
Hat tip: Xisntox and Dameocrat
Why am I having flashbacks to the playground? (“Don’t call him a poopy-head!” “BUT HE STARTED IT!!!!!”)
What “bait”? Oh, you mean that we shouldn’t employ Arab-logic. Crap then, I guess my newspaper oughta pull those cartoons I comishined that deny the Mei Lei massacre, or the one where Jesus has a burning cross poking out of loincloth.
I very much see DK’s point. As reprehensible as this is, it is mostly an attempt to tease out the West’s hypocrisy on free speech… and we CAN be very hypocritical. After all, in the US and Israel we Jews tend to forget our committment to free speech when the Holocaust (or Israel) comes up… meanwhile, in Europe, many countries (especially Germany) actually outlaw any Nazi or Holocaust-denying images/books/statements.
the Danish newspaper was, let’s face it, being pretty provocative (even if they were totally within their rights), and this kind of upping-the-ante response should not come as a surprise. Although the fact that they are skewering Jews as opposed to Danes is very revealing….
but what exactly does it reveal? as a friend of mine said, the current regime in Iran is kinda like Bush in the US or Netanyahu in Israel… pandering to their reactionary base and making xenophobes proud while thumbing their nose at more liberal elements within their own countries, and at the rest of the world.
I think that having borne the brunt of Jew-hating for a few thousand years, only we will be able to really understand how holding a best Holocaust “cartoon” contest is revenge against the country of Denmark for publishng a purportedly anti-religion-of-peace caracature. As a Jew, it is so boringly logical.
Those cocks are dragging us into their mess to serve their anti-Semitic needs. They are saying to the West, “You won’t touch the Jews, who have been controlling you the whole time. So don’t give us that crap about freedom of speech.” If the West speaks up about this, we prove those fuckers’ point. That is how sick this has become. For the Islamists, freedom of the press is the freedom to print the most disgusting anti-Semitic drivel one can think of.
With “The Producers” as Broadways biggest hit in years and two major films, how can Iran possibly beat the Jews at making a joke out of the Holocaust?
Bill Clinton, the former US President, added his voice, telling a conference in Qatar that he feared anti-Semitism would be replaced with anti-Islamic prejudice. He condemned “these totally outrageous cartoons against Islamâ€.
did he say FEARED?
Matt, were the orginal cartoons not antimuslim, and was that not described as “freedom of speech” by EV?
It happening. I didn’t think it oculd but it is. The arabs are actually going to take over the world…
I have no idea what you’re saying dameocrat because I’m so high on caffeine. I’m not denying that the cartoons were wrong. They were very insensitive and attacked Muslim belief. It was inciteful not only to draw a caricature of Muhammad like that, but to draw a freakin’ bomb in his head!
Now it’s one thing for Muslims to begin rioting and torching embassies and flags. That’s pretty inappropriate. Especially when virulently anti-Semitic cartoons are run in Arab newspapers all the time. Never have I seen Jews riot uncontrollably over this stuff. And not only that, but violently rioting by the Muslims is a way of saying that they don’t approve of the right to free speech. If they had used more civil means such as merely staging protests and demonstrations, then that would be totally acceptable and in line with democratic values. But then again, the only inalienable rights that despotic Muslim ruler Ahmadinejad seems to concern himself with is the supposed right of Iran to have nuclear power. And peaceful purposes my ass.
That rant aside, some Muslims took this a step further to bring light to their conspiracy that Jews are actually suppressing the Western media’s right to free press by preventing it from even hinting that the Holocaust never happened. So basically, because the Western media prints anti-Muslim cartoons but doesn’t give disgusting revisionist theories and consideration, the Jews are up to something.
This is just a case of some Islamists acting out of line because of the slightest provocation. I don’t think that saying that Muslims’ reaction was overblown in any way justifies publishing that anti-Muslim cartoon.
Matt and Dameocrat,
I don’t think that lack of Free Speech is the real motivator here. The Danish embassy asked for extra security from the Syrian government. They were denied. And Assad is no Fundamentalist. He is a (relatively) secular despot. Something else is going on, and it ain’t the cartoons.
And picking on the Holocause is a sure way to provoke Jewish reaction. They want that. This is not about sensitivity training to the West. This is about redefining the conflict. C’mon guys. This is not about Denmark. Not for the powers that be. It never was. It was an opportunity.
but who is doing the redefining of the conflict. The guy that published these cartoons looks slimey. Read my blog entry on it. I have no idea why Asad would do that, but he would have to be a retard to want to provoke Israel, or Jewish reaction.
Assad would do it because its a way of harnessing populist islamist sentiment to his regime. same reason the president of iran does the voodoo he do.
How can I enter the Holocaust cartoon contest, and is there a prize?
Feb. 8, 2006 16:20Â |Â Updated Feb. 8, 2006 16:22
Danish editor would publish Holocaust cartoons
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Danish editor behind the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad that ignited deadly riots in the Muslim world, said Wednesday that he was trying to coordinate with an Iranian paper soliciting cartoons on the Holocaust.
“My newspaper is trying to establish a contact with the Iranian newspaper, and we would run the cartoons the same day as they publish them,” Flemming Rose said Wednesday in an interview on CNN’s “American Morning.”
The Iranian newspaper Hamshahri said Tuesday that it would hold the competition to test whether the West extended the principle of freedom of expression to the Nazi genocide as it did to the caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad.
I heard that part of the controversy was that apparently the Danish newspaper had previously refused to publish caricatures of Jesus. Okay, so lemme just officially start WWIII here:
http://www.thepaincomics.com/
click on Archives, then “Blowing One’s Cool in the Clutch” (for some reason it won’t let me link directly)
David,
I think that by provoking a Jewish response, Iran will have the opportunity to “prove” a point to the West that its media is controlled by Jews who allow and promote the printing of anti-Muslim cartoons but will not let anyone touch the Holocaust because denying the Holocaust allows to call into question the validity of the Zionist entity. That is how the conspiracy goes, isn’t it?
This is along the lines of what Ahmadinejad says, so it is all the more likely (more of a kal v’chomer) that a nongovernment entity such as a newspaper (which is state-controlled, but I think that that is more of an issue of censorship) would promote such hideously hateful ideas.
So I agree that Iran is trying to provoke a response from the Jews, but I’m just taking it a step further and explaining what I think is the underlying goal here.
So a guy, appropriately named flem, is involved with both the mohammed bashing cartoons and the protocols cartoons in Iran? xisntox you need to get a blog. You always provide critical pieces of info. Anyway, it looks like those of us who refuse to be drawn into the clash of fundyism are again the wiser parties. The enemy is right wing fundamentalism on both sides.
Matt, I think our western and eastern fundys are playing off each other, because it makes the public in all these countries more loyal to authoritarian miltaristic regimes.
Dameocrat and Matt,
I disagree. I think this is about nuclear ambitions for Iran, not theology.
xisntox,
May we have the link?
There is a link to the guardian version of the article at my blog.
dk – http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395367322&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
check out this palestinian perspective: http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20060207-111058-4077r
‘Yes’ to Holocaust cartoons
08/02/2006 20:43Â Â -Â (SA)Â Â
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1877760,00.html
Paris – A French newspaper which on Wednesday reprinted the contentious caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad said it would also print cartoons on the Holocaust from a competition being organised by an Iranian daily.
Asked if Charlie Hebdo, a satirical French weekly, intended to reproduce the Iranian cartoons, editorial director Philippe Val replied: “Yes.”
But he said the decision stemmed not from a desire to defend the right to freedom of expression, as with the Muhammad cartoons, but rather to counter claims in Iran and elsewhere that the Nazi genocide against the Jews never occurred.
“We have decided to publish the cartoons on the Holocaust in the name of the fight against revisionism, which is fundamental today,” he said at a Paris media conference.
xisntox, please explain what this has to do with nuclear weapon ambitions.
And Dameocrat, while I agree that the Europeans who printed the cartoons are right-wing nuts who did something stupid and insensitive, I wouldn’t necessarily say that they are fundamentalists in the same sense that Iran is and Islamic fundamentalists. If the European dudes were Christian Zionists, then I would have to agree. We Jews would just sit here and watch in the middle while the nuts in the other monotheistic religions battle it out with each other.
I think that what the French newspaper is doing is crazy, but I think it makes sense in a strange European way. It may be objectionable, but it is definitely a radical, ballsy move. The editor is in effect countering accusations that Western newspapers won’t print Holocaust cartoons because they don’t want to entertain the thought that the Holocaust never happened since the Jews control the media and had created the “myth” of the Holocaust in the first place. By printing the Holocaust cartoons, the French guys are saying that they are perfectly comfortable doing so because they know it happened and are totally confident because history revisionism is in fact a load of shit. At least this is what I think.
“It’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off.”
i think what will be most interesting is the caption that will acompany the holocaust cartoons. while the european media will be calling the iranian papers bluff, they will also have to publish something i think they dont agree with, purely to prove a point. fair enough. and like i said, a witty caption would in my eyes get rid of the maliciousness. lets see what they do with it.
They are probably neoliberals, but don’t distinguish them from fundies because they have often given an assist to them. Keepin women and minorites down is good for investers. So is building up the military.
Oh by the way, Jews won’t sit it out because they believe the fight between Judaism and Islam means Jesus will come back. Furthermore Israel’s fundies are more or less allied with the Christian ones.
rather the christians believe this. The fundamentalist Jews also believe a messiah will come back and defend them in the end. In the mean time Christian support for the West Bank is good for them.
Now this is where you’ve gone too far, Dameocrat.
Your rambling is among the most pathetic trash that I, or any other sensible person, have ever seen. You go on like an idiot about what Israel and the West has done to further mess up the world. You think that you’re a non-comformist, when in fact you conform to the opposite stance. You take an antagonistic approach to everything just so that you can pat yourself on the back and go to sleep every night thinking that you did some good for the world when, in fact, you have only attempted to advance a destructive cause. And I have no doubt that, pretty much all of the time, you have no clue what the hell you are talking about. As a student at U of Michigan, I hear a lot of stupid things come out of the mouths of self-congratulatory students who really have no place at an institution of higher learning. You don’t even sound like a high schooler.
Now that all of that is said, fyi, the belief in the coming of the messiah is not just something believed by “fundy” Jews, but is rather a central tenet of the Jewish religion. (And for the record, “fundy” is one of the dumbest words in blogspeak that I have seen lately.) The last two of Maimonides’s 13 articles of faith is the belief in the coming of messiah and the resurrection of the dead. Fuck, Jews praise God everyday as “mechiayeh hameitim,” He who resurrects the dead. Now you can go on length about how that belief has evolved over the ages, but to anyone with half a brain, this is not new info! So the next time you feel enlightened to say another thing about right-wingers, fundamentalists, neoliberals, and other fringe lunatics, please make sure that you are at least following some fact.
Paper won’t run Holocaust cartoons
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395370665&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter
Associated Press, THE JERUSALEM POST Feb. 9, 2006
The top editor of the Danish newspaper whose caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad sparked rage throughout the Islamic world said Wednesday the daily would not reprint Holocaust cartoons being solicited by an Iranian newspaper.
Editor-in-Chief Carsten Juste said his newspaper Jyllands-Posten “in no circumstances will publish Holocaust cartoons from an Iranian newspaper.”
A prominent Iranian newspaper has said it would hold a competition for cartoons on the Holocaust to test whether the West extends the principle of freedom of expression to the Nazi genocide as it did to the Muhammad caricatures.
Earlier, culture editor Flemming Rose said of the Iranian cartoons: “We would consider publishing them, but we will not make a decision before we have seen the cartoons.”
“I have committed an error,” Rose said later in an interview with Danish television. “I am 100 percent with the newspaper’s line and Carsten Juste in this case.”
Juste, meanwhile, has rejected suggestions that he step down in the wake of the furor, which has brought sometimes-fatal protest outbursts and the burning of two Danish embassies in the Middle East.
The Danish paper has come under mounting pressure, at home and abroad, after publishing the drawings in September. Former Foreign Minister Uffe Ellemann-Jensen said Wednesday on national radio that “when an editor in chief admits he made an erroneous judgment … he should quit.”
In a brief reply on the daily’s Web site, Juste said, “I do not feel called … in that direction.”
The drawings – including one depicting the prophet wearing a turban shaped as a bomb – have touched a nerve in part because Islam is interpreted to forbid any illustrations of the Prophet Muhammad for fear they could lead to idolatry.
Matt,
No personal attacks and name calling. Seriously, Matt. No need for that. Okay?
DK-
I don’t agree. I think responses should be commensurate with what they respond to. Where a statement is made in good faith (the author genuinely believes what they write, and has at least some evidence or reason to back up their belief, or, at the very least, means well), I would agree with you. And you know that I say this as a person who is capable of, and willing to, have a courteous argument with people I disagree with.
In this case, let’s just say that good faith was lacking. If anything, Matt’s response was too restrained.
matt– I’m not sure why you’re asking about the nukes?
http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasen/spages/680913.html
Danish paper cancels plans to republish cartoons about Israel
By Asaf Uni, Haaretz Correspondent
The Danish newspaper that created a storm in the Arab world by publishing cartoons of the prophet Mohammed has canceled plans to reprint several cartoons dealing with Israel, a senior editor told Haaretz yesterday.
“We wanted to show that we make fun of everyone, not only Muslims,” said Pierre Collignon of Jyllands-Posten. “But for fear of being misunderstood, we canceled the plan at the last moment.”
One cartoon that was to be published on Sunday depicted a Star of David, to which a bomb with a burning fuse had been attached. This cartoon, which has been published in the newspaper in the past, was drawn by the same artist who drew the cartoon of the prophet Mohammed with a “ticking bomb” on his head.
“We wanted to show that even the Jews, with all the historic sensitivity, accepted satire aimed at their sacred symbols without staging angry demonstrations.”
J,
Your responses have frequently been among the most intelligent defenses of conservative positions, and I say that even while disagreeing with you on many issues. I have no problem with a scathing response, but merely ask that it isn’t personalized. Anything else is beneath you. Calling someone an “idiot” (note: J did no such thing, someone else did) is not acceptable. There is a major difference between a person with a very different world view and a person who seeks to insult. So too, there is no need to take the former personally, and it does not represent “a lack of good faith.”
DK-
In this specific instance, I claim that there’s a lack of good faith because the person Matt blasted has consistently (not only in this thread) a) ignored well-known facts, invented new facts and presented illogical arguments based on no evidence b) in order to further an agenda which seems to be based largely on animus against Israel and Jews. I do not make such claims lightly. Go through the threads (especially recent ones) and draw your own conclusions.
Matt and Xisntox,
I am the one who suspects that Iran is attempting to reframe the conflict as specifically one between the Jews and Islam in order to remove pressure over their goal of nuclear arms. I think this is a shrewd strategy, and one Jewish groups should be aware of before demanding denouncements and policy retribution. This looks like a trap to me, and its success partially depends on how reactive the Jewish world is to their provocation. I would prefer we plead with Jewish organizations to keep quiet. It is not in our interest to allow this conflict to center around us at this time.
Matt, many reform jews believe in messianic generation rather than a literal messiah, and no one thinks that they can bring on the messiah or predict it other than fundy christians and yes fundy jews.
world jewish congress launches anti-Iran campaign. http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/681155.html
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So Dameocrat, if I hold by the popular Jewish belief that meshiach will come if every Jew keeps two consecutive shabbatot, does that make me a Jewish fundamentalist? If a Jew sees the state of this violent world and thinks that the cataclysmic world battle that would precede the coming of meshiach is right around the corner, is he/she a fundamentalist Jew?
I think that a Reform Jew who, for example, ardently believes in bringing a messianic age through universal enlightenment and assimilation can be more of a fundamentalist than many orthodox Jews.
It depends who you ask. You shouldn’t be too quick to judge. In my opinion, there is no absolute guarantee that the founding of the state of Israel will bring about the coming of meshiach. Especially since Rabbi Schneerson past away. (Just kidding! No offense to any Chabadniks in here. You know I kid.) This is a loaded comment, but the world is a better place with the state of Israel present.
Since all or most of those Iranian “cartoons” I suspect will refer to some factual events (e.g., Anna Frank, etc.) I would recommend whoever re-publishes the cartoons shall publish actual photografs regarding the cartoon subject next to each cartoon, This would clearly demonstrate a simple point: these caricatures are full of shit trying to deny the history. As a “good will” gesture toward muslims who are – I am sure – equally eager to defend and redefine the true face of their religion, I suggest publishing the photografs next to the original “anti-Islam” cartoons as well. I can immediately think of pictures of people dropping from the burning WTC buildings, burning Danish embassies in Siria and Lebanon, et. etc. But then again, may be someone can send some pictures of the prophet, demonstrating his love towards humanity (or at least some verses from Koran, which are full of tolerance towards other religions?). I, for one, would love to see the results…
I don’t think your are talking to me matt. I already referred to people who think they can force the issue, or are cock sure they’ll be saved in a war.
Salam Alaykom (Shalom)
Muslims are not against Jews, but only the Zionists that are oppressing Palestinians. Other than that, they are friends…at least that is the case for me and my Jewish friends. These cartoons are meant to incite the same way the Nazis used cartoons to incite Jews. I actually did alot of research lately and have found a whole plethora of Anti-Semetic cartoons made by the Nazis that look identical to the ones in the Danish paper. The rise of the Christian Right is something that should not be overlooked by either Jew, Christian, or Muslim. The Christian Right is becoming more and more xenophobic. Have you noticed the already changing attitudes towards Israel from American, Britian, & Europe? Jews, Muslims, and Christians (Non-Right Wing) need to stay alert to this rise. I would not be surprised if a new Crusade is launched and Jews, Muslims, and Non-Right Wing Christians are made victims again. We have a Christian Right Wing president in the US, Canada, Germany, and slowly all across Europe. As Islamophobia is rising, so is Anti-Semitism, but it is not the Muslims who are creating the Anti-Semitism, it is actually the Christian right. In the view of the Christian right…THE ONLY WAY THEY CAN HAVE THEIR ‘RAPTURE’ and be raised directly into the sky and be by the side of their God Jesus (He is our Prophet), they have to create their prophecy of Israel being attacked, even if they do it themselves. They want to push Muslims to attack Israel to see the fullfilment of their prophecy. They are fanatic enough that they will do it if left unchecked. Just listen to what people like Pat Robertson says about Jews and Muslims on the 700 club. It is all about how Jews betrayed Christ and how Muslims are heretics etc. As Muslims…we are taught to respect Jews and Christians above all other faiths other than our own. We are only allowed to marry Jews and Christians if not Muslims. Why do you think this is? Because Jews and Christians from the Muslim point of view were once Muslims in belief…(believing in THE ONE GOD without using graven images). Just think of the amount of things that we have in common…I cannot tell the difference between Muslims and Jews many times. I was at the mall and ran into some Israeli people who were teenage/college age and working at a few businesses. I thought they were Iranians, Arabs, Turks…but they were Israelis. They did not eat Pork like us…they have beards like us. They dress modestly…etc. Point is that we Muslims do not have a problem with Jews…in history Muslims and Jews have lived in harmony…Islamic Spain is a perfect example. Even in Iran there has always been a huge Jewish population that was nurtured even in Islamic Persia. You can still go to shops, synagugues, schools, and tombs of Iranian Jews. I actually went and saw the tomb of Ester & Mordecai in Hamadan, Iran. The Muslims have made sure to protect the tomb/shrine which is visited by both Jewish and Muslim Iranians. Anyway…here is a website that will help you see how Muslims see Jews: http://www.islamdenouncesantisemitism.com
In regards to the Iranian Jew Bashing…that is not related to Islam, it relates to the Pre-Islamic Aryan Nationalist drive in Iranians that was promoted by Hitler when he created the Iranian Nazi party that was an Anti-Jewish and Anti-Muslim organization, which has manifested a new website: http://www.sumka.org
Something funny that happened is that the last time the German Soccer team came to Iran for a game…the Anti-Muslim Iranian youth that came to see them at the airport started to do ‘Heil Hitler’ salutes in admiration, while the German team was totally offended! Point is that Iranian Muslims like the Jews, while Iranian Ultra-Nationalists hate Jews.
IAM: thanks for your thoughts and those links; btw, the one to Sumka doesn’t work. check out as well this op-ed by an Iranian Jewish emigre: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/18/AR2005111803063.html
Thank you for your thoughts, IAM. I’m getting what you are saying, and I’ve read a few articles about the awkward situation facing the Jews in Iran. I appreciate the positive views held toward Jews by many of our Muslim brethren. However, I believe that if Jews, Muslims, and Arabs are going to live peacefully in the region, we’re all going to have to understand one another’s national aspirations. I’m sure that this is along the lines of what you were saying, but I get the feeling that there is too much apprehension toward Zionism in the Middle East and not enough understanding about Jewish aspirations for statehood. And it’s not just the Holocaust; that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Jewish existence over the past 2000 years has been quite precarious, and the need for a state for the Jews in their homeland should be better understood, even though there are certainly those whose lives have been turned upside down by it. Israel’s presence should be seen more as a positive one and wih less negativity and suspicion.
DK,
Thanks for your interesting analysis of how Iran is reframing the conflict. I have to respectfully challenge you on a few points, but please defend them in order to clarify your position.
If Iran frames the conflict more as one between Jews and Muslims, wouldn’t that attract more attention to their nuclear program? People would see Iran as even more of a rogue state, since most of Europe is just about fed up with the Islamic Republic. In addition, wouldn’t more people focus attention on Iran’s nuclear program, since a perceived conflict between Jews and Muslims would make Israel appear to be in even greater danger of a nuclear attack by Iran?
Everybody should be able to say, or express in drawings or artform, whatever he wants anytime how bizar it might be…
The thing about freedom of speech is that, if you are going to use it to attack others (as the Danish newspaper did), then you have to allow your enemy to use freedom of speech to retaliate against you. That is the natural law of human relations. If you don’t allow that, you just look hypocritical. I think the Iranians scored a rhetorical victory by creating this Holocaust Cartoon Contest. They may be using Jews as a bait, but they are saying to the West: “We can take a joke (about Islam). But can you take a joke also (about the Holocaust)?”
Have you ever met a German or North European and talked to them about the Holocaust? If you do, you will find they bear a tremendous amount of shame about what happened in the 2nd World War. That shame lives on today. It is the weak point in the western psyche.. the Achilles Heel. You have got to hand it to the Iranians, for being worldwise enough, to recognise this. After they were attacked by that Danish newspaper with the sacrilegious Mohammad portraits, the Iranians decided — let’s hit back at the Europeans at the point where they feel the most guilty, and that is the Holocaust.
This fight has nothing to do with the Jews. Jews have enough fights without being involved in this one! This one is a strictly Christian-Islamic dispute. Let us not forget, it was Christian Europe which tried to exterminate the Jews. And they say that Islam is a violent religion!
There is a huge tendancy for people in this thread to speak about a Muslim reaction to those cartoons. Consider that there are over 60 million muslims in Turkey alone — and there is no torching. Media treatment of these issues reveals a bias that turns up the temperature on these conflicts. Think about Theo Van Gough. He consistently referred to Arabs and Muslims as goat fuckers in a newspaper with a 1.2 millon readership. He was killed by an unstable young man who was living in a society where people looked at him as if he was a piece of shit. So he blew it and killed Theo. He was a criminal. Did a bunch of well-off Danes riot? No, but the did protest by the thousands and mosques were burned and bombed and more than one muslim men were beaten down in the streats. Try finding one sourse that refers to those attacks as “the dutch response.” You will mainly find that those who participated were “counter-responding” or that they were “a few hooligans.” You have to realize what Muslims and Arabs and South East Asians are feeling in Western society right now. Anti-Muslim media images are basically the norm here. Comedy Central’s Bartmitzfa was basically a string of comedians taunting and teasing Muslims. Ali G’s Al Josten bit would simply not be allowed if he targeted any other race. We american’s expect everyone to feel as we do about 9-11, and it seems that few have and consideration for magnitude of assault shock and awe was to the Arab region.
Matt, your wrote,
“If Iran frames the conflict more as one between Jews and Muslims, wouldn’t that attract more attention to their nuclear program?”
Not necessarily, as it could come to be considered more a “Jewish problem” than a Western one.
“People would see Iran as even more of a rogue state, since most of Europe is just about fed up with the Islamic Republic.”
Iran doesn’t have the same goals of changing and destroying Europe as Al-Aqaeda. That is the fear of Euorpe. There is not the same fear for the welfare of the Jewish State. In fact, it is probably relieving for them to hear a much more limited contest.
“In addition, wouldn’t more people focus attention on Iran’s nuclear program, since a perceived conflict between Jews and Muslims would make Israel appear to be in even greater danger of a nuclear attack by Iran?”
Only if they are concerned about Israel. I don’t think it is the primary concern of most European nations, and I don’t think they perceive that a conflict with Israel need lead to a conflict with Europe. In fact, one could reasonably perceive that an alignment with Israel is much more of a threat to a nation becoming a target than ignoring a threat to Israel.
JyllandsPosten has published that they will not publish the Holocaust Cartoons and the editor who accidently said that, Flemming Rose, has been sent on holiday.
http://www.jp.dk/indland/artikel:aid=3548116/
After all that? After all this bickering?
Hello all,
Can someone please let me know how I can enter one of the many H-cartoon contests out there? I am Jewish and, as one Jewish newspaper put it, “…don’t want anyone beating me on my own turf.” I agree whole-heartedly with the newspaper, f-’em right in their ear. I figure, I’m creative and comfortable with my jewishicity, so I wanted help entering.
Thanks for your help.