Write this one in your diary Anne!

March 4, 2006 10:07 AM

When Iranian paper Hamshahri (in Persian) launched a contest for Holocaust cartoons, an Israeli group responded in turn with a contest of their own for cartoons that make fun of Jews. Too bad it closed yesterday, or the Dutch branch of the AEL could submit theirs. (WARNING: some of the linked content may be offensive to readers' ethnicities, cultures, religions, or tastes.)
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane (20 comments total)

Holy moley, now that's a tag list --->

"We are not a pacifist religion. We don't turn the other cheek. We hit back.' -- Yusuf Islam, nee Cat Stevens.
posted by boaz at 10:41 AM on March 4, 2006

Wow, lots of toons about Christian children's blood.

I think this is my favorite, though.
posted by Talanvor at 10:47 AM on March 4, 2006

I like the one about Barbra Streisand.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 11:12 AM on March 4, 2006

The daycare matzo factory.
posted by orthogonality at 11:19 AM on March 4, 2006

Or Hitler, Gandhi, and MLK in Heaven.
posted by orthogonality at 11:20 AM on March 4, 2006

"Too bad it closed yesterday, or the Dutch branch of the AEL could submit theirs."
No, they say they're only taking cartoons from Jews. ("we’ve asked for Jews joking about Jews", "this time drawn by Jews themselves!"). I thought I saw something else on their page saying so even more explicitly weeks ago, but maybe I was imagining it.
posted by mistersix at 11:30 AM on March 4, 2006

I got a kick out of the "Giving Tree" one. Some of those are really funny. G-d bless Jewish comedy.
posted by fungible at 11:41 AM on March 4, 2006

Most of these are not funny on any level, and even offensive as a goof, but ultimately, the sign of a sane culture, civilization and religion, that this kind of thing goes down.

Unfortunately, the same things cannot be said for, at the very least, dominant Islamic culture.
posted by ParisParamus at 12:04 PM on March 4, 2006

I would have submitted one myself but I broke my arm while trying to pat myself on the back for my moral righteousness and tolerance at the same time as I was flipping the bird at a dark skinned person with unusually clean hands and feet.
posted by srboisvert at 2:11 PM on March 4, 2006

Interesting comments following the posting of the cartoon that was not accepted (depicting Hitler in bed with Anne Frank).

The best comment found irony in this image, considering the well-known pedophilia of Mohammed.
posted by reality at 2:13 PM on March 4, 2006

with the exception of the (genius) recruitment poster for the elders of Zion, they're all desperately unfunny, and most of them are very very lazy attempts. but as Paris said, they're the symptom of a rational, intelligent, civilized culture
posted by matteo at 2:18 PM on March 4, 2006

(and please let's lose the Muhammad-paedophilia shit, it's on the same level of antisemites who make savage fun of Metzizah b’peh, calling mohelim child molesters.
please, let's lose that shit. please)
posted by matteo at 2:21 PM on March 4, 2006 [1 favorite]

(matteo, if it wasn't clear,what I meant: that this thing is allowed to go on without widespread hysteria and violence is a sign of the strength and confidence of the current Jewish landscape)
posted by ParisParamus at 2:29 PM on March 4, 2006

boaz, it's née for women, né for men.
posted by nicwolff at 3:07 PM on March 4, 2006

I suppose, technically Mohammed was not a pedophile as we define such people today. Pedophiles seek out and abuse children usually as their primary source of gratification.

The aspect of the circumcision ritual matteo refers to is not explicitly or overtly sexual, however, according to the Sahih Bukhari, Mohammed did explicitly want to "marry" the 6 year old Aisha, "consummating" the union when she was 9 and he was in his 50's.

So it's possible to say it was an isolated and unique act of his.

My point really was to point out the - probably unintended - irony of the antisemitic cartoon of Hitler and Anne Frank in bed when you consider the history of Mohammed, who actually probably WAS in bed with a child.

Unless the source material is either false or merely allegorical.
posted by reality at 3:55 PM on March 4, 2006

There's something desperately wrong about these cartoons. They're probably going to lose their context very quickly, and, shorn of their irony, travel around the world, and imbed themselves in some collective consciousness for decades. A very bad idea.

Also -- they seem beside the point. The Danish cartoon wasn't an ad homina slander of Muslims, it was (the Muslims thought) a slander of their prophet, Muhahmed. Wouldn't the equivalent on the Jewish side be depictions of Moses -- say -- or David, in shocking attitudes? (Not that I'm encouraging this. Personally, I'd have the world drop the whole subject.)
posted by Faze at 4:07 PM on March 4, 2006

There's something desperately wrong about these cartoons. They're probably going to lose their context very quickly, and, shorn of their irony, travel around the world, and imbed themselves in some collective consciousness for decades. A very bad idea.

Also -- they seem beside the point. The Danish cartoon wasn't an ad homina slander of Muslims, it was (the Muslims thought) a slander of their prophet, Muhahmed. Wouldn't the equivalent on the Jewish side be depictions of Moses -- say -- or David, in shocking attitudes? (Not that I'm encouraging this. Personally, I'd have the world drop the whole subject.)
posted by Faze at 4:07 PM on March 4, 2006

I don't think I've ever made the above posting error before. My apologies.
posted by Faze at 4:08 PM on March 4, 2006

Well, I found the cartoons desperately hilarious. Especially the one with the nervous Jew cutting in line. Some of them were crap, admittedly.


I should have made one like the first, but with the Jews looking at their investments in gas ovens. Alas, I draw like a lazy Picasso.
posted by Citizen Premier at 10:45 PM on March 4, 2006

I should think those who belong to a religion notorious for its alter-boy-buggering, or a religion where circumcision is sometimes performed by having some dude bite the kid's dink, are people who perhaps should not be pointing fingers at some desert nomad with a child-bride.
posted by five fresh fish at 6:43 PM on March 5, 2006