Bringing the Jews In
How absurd would it be if WWIII was triggered by a cartoon? Much more absurd than, say, a World War triggered by the killing of an archduke. In a way, this is progress — towards global madness, at least. Anyway, in an apparent effort to fight cartoons with cartoons, as opposed to fighting cartoons with arson and violence, an organization known as The Arab-European League has begun publishing its own cartoons under the following rationale:
AEL will systematically publish daring cartoons produced by our own AEL cartoonist “Nabucho” and breaking many taboos in Europe.
After the lectures that Arabs and Muslims received from Europeans on Freedom of Speech and on Tolerance. And after that many European newspapers republished the Danish cartoons on the Prophet Mohammed. AEL decided to enter the cartoon business and to use our right to artistic expression.
Just like the newspapers in Europe claim that they only want to defend the freedom of speech and do not desire to stigmatise Muslims,we also do stress that our cartoons are not meant as an offence to anybody and ought not to be taken as a statement against any group, community or historical fact.
If it is the time to break Taboos and cross all the red lines, we certainly do not want to stay behind.
It just so happens that all the cartoons published thus far are virulently anti-Semitic (shocking, indeed!), including one with Hitler in bed with Anne Frank.
It’s difficult to tell whether the purpose is to call Europe on its double standards vis a vis press freedoms (specifically, the laws against Holocaust Denial in parts of Europe) or whether the organization is simply trying to contribute to one aspect of Islam’s contemporary artistic heritage.
You gotta hand it to them, though: they sure know how to take the high road.
I actually think some of those are really funny. I don’t know if it’s unintentional humor funny or black comedy funny, but they definitely didn’t make me upset.
But then my Aunt said she (and only she) laughed out loud at parts of Hannibal, so maybe my family is f-ed up?
And when I say didn’t make me upset, I mean as a gut reaction to the image- the larger scenario disturbs me deeply.
It must be tough for the Arab media to retaliate with cartoons of their own. After all, think of all the culling and editing they’ll have to do from all the decades worth of anti-Semitic propaganda to choose from!
On the other hand, when I saw these cartoons, it reminded me of how I felt when I see those anti-Semitic cartoons like of Ariel Sharon as an octopus with his tentacles strangling the globe. The main difference is we have Abe Foxman as our pit bull. They have to burn down embassies. 6 of one, half-dozen of the other…
Iran’s gonna run Holocaust cartoons:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1704032,00.html
This retaliation via cartoons won’t work for one simple reason: vast majorities of Jewish, Christian and secular Europeans and Americans (if any) won’t go crazy over over a couple of cartoons. Call us apathetic or irreligious, but we’ll just look at them and go, “Oh, that’s nice.” Then we’ll go to the next website.
On an unrelated note to the author of Jewschool: You might want to consider your request in the right advertising toolbar for visitors to “patronize” your advertizers. I doub’t you want us to act condescendingly toward them. You might, however, want us to “visit” them or something along those lines.
Sorry, it’s just the grammar dork in me. 🙂
more likely the adl would boycott a paper that published these and they would be removed and there would be an apology. Yes, that is better than violence, but it isn’t absolute tolerance of free speech. Boycotts occure over much less slights at the Jewish community than holocaust deniel. Witness this event from last week.
Here is the link.
Dameocrat
There is a fundamental difference between the two situations.
Free speech means you can say what you want – it doesn’t mean that others have to listen or refrain from objecting (so long as the government isn’t one of those “others”).
In this situation the paper had the right to publish offensive caricatures. You have the right to find them offensive, and free speech also means you have the right to say so. It also means you have the right to urge a boycott of the paper and/or demand it retract the material, change its policy, etc.
Had the objectors to the cartoons done that, I would have no problem with it. But they went beyond that line. They tried to instill a boycott of the country, and demand its government intervene to stop or punish them – and that is a demand for limiting free speech. This is, of course, even before we get to the death threats and actual violence.
In contrast, the ADL can – and has the right to – protest over a call to boycott Israel. But they are not the government, and do not have the government’s power, and the WEC is perfectly free to tell them to take a hike.
Posted without the last sentence – and in the case of the ADL, the aren’t trying to force the WEC to accede to their demands by violence.
http://www.zombietime.com/mohammed_image_archive/
great cartoons on mohamad
To play even bigger grammar Nazi…. did you notice how poorly written the statement from the AEL was?
For the record, there’s nothing wrong with Jewlicious’ use of “patronize.” It’s a perfectly good transitive verb. The meaning “to act condescendingly” is secondary (and intransitive).
Cartoons? It’s a pure smokescreen to divert world attention from the Iran nuke showdown w/Europe; very slick. Note how Muslums have been recruiting in US prisons for years, expect more LA (Muslim on Catholic) style prison riots. While their stranglehold around Eretz Israel tightens, Europe is getting ready to implode.
Here’s a good site showing the placards used by Muslim ‘demonstrators’ in London on this past Friday. It’s interesting to note that NONE of these ‘demonstrators’ were arrested, even though inciting hatred and inciting murder are illegal in the United Kingdom. However, two counter-demonstrators who were speaking out for freedom of speech WERE arrested.
http://michellemalkin.com/archives/004448.htm
Sorry–that last one was a misfire.
Question: if the Iranians publish Holocaust cartoons, does that mean they believe the Holocaust happened?
The guy that dressed as a suicide bombers in England was trying to demonstrate what the cartoon against Mohammed was saying. The article that was removed from WEF, didn’t relate to the cartoons it was about a MLK type civil rights boycott against Israel for its treatment of Palestinians. The Jewish community had the article removed, and forced an apology from the WEF.
ok this post is to get rid of the italics Somebody apparently started italics and didn’t close them.
didn’t work.
Huh? You’re trying to draw moral equivalence between a ‘MLK type civil rights boycott against Israel for its treatment of Palestinians’ and the wearing of a suicide belt to demonstrate against ‘offensive’ cartoons in a Danish newspaper in September? It may interest you to know that the chap who wore the suicide belt has been remanded in custody today and is to be returned to prison for violating the terms of his parole.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2028521,00.html
I somehow doubt greatly that Martin Luther King, Jr. would have condoned such behaviour.
It wasn’t a real suicide belt. It was a costume.
The mlk comment was on another point. I don’t know why you are conflating the two.
Dameocrat,
It’s hard to figure out what you’re getting at (i.e., I don’t understand your prose), but I think those who wear fake suicide belts at rallies are glorifying mass murderers as opposed to protesting depictions of Muslims.
“Question: if the Iranians publish Holocaust cartoons, does that mean they believe the Holocaust happened”
I don’t know. Maybe we should hold a conderence to find out.
Dameocrat,
Don’t you think that it’s entirely possible that Mr. Schwab honestly disagreed with the views expressed in the article? The twisted ideas in the article are not views held by most people, including Europeans.
An interesting angle to the debate from the SF Chronicle:
“…Beyond economic need, one of the reasons many Muslims immigrated to Western countries in the first place was to enjoy the sort of freedom denied to them in their native lands. Turning the West into Afghanistan under the Taliban will help no one. While Islam may enjoy equality with other religions, supremacy is another matter. If we are to truly integrate Muslims into our societies, it must be on an equal footing. One of the most important and hard-won rights in the West is free speech. When free speech is chipped away in the name of avoiding offense, all else is soon forfeit.”
I’m a student at SUNY Albany and heard a speech by Rabbi Shumley Boteach. He agreed that the cartoons were quite offensive and basically called on the Muslim community to prove the cartoonist wrong.
I mean if it was a cartoon of a Jew picking up pennies, it would be just as stupid for Jews to hold signs complaining about the price of the publication.