Islamic anti-Semitism Manfred Gerstenfeld

MANFRED GERSTENFELD INTERVIEWS JOEL KOTEK ON ARAB ANTI-SEMITIC CARTOONS…….

Remember folks, the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation pushes the false notion of “Islamofauxbia”, at the same time it denies that any Muslim, good or bad, can engage in anti-Semitic behavior. This extraordinary acknowledgement has yet to be highlighted in a significant way. KGS

Major Anti-Semitic Motifs in

Arab Cartoons

An Interview with Joël Kotek by Manfred Gerstenfeld

“The collective image of the Jews created by Arab cartoons lays the groundwork for a possibility of genocide. One can argue about whether these genocidal ideas are conscious or subconscious.”

Dr. Joël Kotek, a political scientist, is professor at the Free University of Brussels. He has collected many thousands of anti-Semitic cartoons, mainly from Arab media. These cartoons not only target Israel, but aim at all Jews. His research resulted in a book titled Cartoons and Extremism: Israel and the Jews in Arab and Western media.

Kotek stresses that in a world where image plays a central role, the cartoon has become a popular and efficient means of communication. A caricature may have as much influence on public opinion as an editorial.

He adds: “The main recurrent theme in these cartoons is ‘the devilish Jew.’ By extension, this image suggests that the Jewish religion must be diabolic, and the entire Jewish people evil. These cartoons convey the idea that Jews behave like Nazis, leading readers to conclude that the only logical solution is their elimination. As the Arab world has become increasingly convinced of these ideas, they have no inhibitions showing them on a multitude of websites.”

Several hundred Arab cartoons from Kotek’s collection are categorized according to anti-Semitic themes in his book: “The first theme is based on the oldest anti-Semitic motif, demonization of the Jew. The Jew is depicted as inhuman and an enemy of humanity. This dehumanization is necessary to justify the hoped for elimination.

“On 28 December 1999 – well before the second Palestinian uprising – Al-Hayat al-Jadida, the official Palestinian Authority journal, published a cartoon expressing this core idea. It depicted an old man in a djellaba, symbolizing the twentieth century, taking leave of a young man wearing a tee-shirt symbolizing the twenty-first century. In between them stood a small Jew with a Star of David on his breast, above which an arrow pointed to him saying, ‘the illness of the century.’

A second central theme in anti-Semitic cartoons is the Jew as a murderer of God. “This is originally a Christian motif. This representation by Muslims serves in efforts to obtain the sympathy of some Christians by adapting one of their central myths.

“Another major motif is Israel as a Nazi state. This is based on two contradictory allegations, which the Islamists try to reconcile. Their first claim is that the Shoah never happened. Their second contention is that if it did, it has caused more damage to the Palestinians because they believe they are being treated worse than the Nazis treated the Jews.’

Kotek remarks: “The next motif – zoomorphism – is a very common theme throughout the world. To abuse one’s adversaries, one dehumanizes them by turning them into animals. In Nazi, Soviet and Romanian caricatures, the Jew is often depicted as a spider, perceived as an evil animal. The two other predominant anti-Semitic zoomorphic motifs are the blood-thirsty vampire and the octopus. The vampire image is a classic theme used by anti-Semites. I have not found any other people besides the Jews represented as such. This genocide-preparing design originates in Christian imagination. The Arab cartoonists often follow the Nazis as far as the bestial representation of the Jews is concerned. The messages transmitted are that the Jews are destructive, inhuman and evil.

“The fifth anti-Semitic motif in Arab cartoons echoes the classic conspiracy theme, that ‘the Jews control the world.’ Israel’s opponents allege that the Jews dominate the United States. By implication, they also claim that the Jews are the ‘masters of the world’ – a classic conspiracy theme exploited by the Nazis.” The following caricature by Bendib an American caricaturist of Algerian origin illustrates this:

 “Yet another major theme in Arab cartoons is the blood-loving or blood-thirsty Jew. This motif also originates in Christian anti-Semitism. In today’s Arab world this image of unbridled hatred has mutated into the alleged quest for Palestinian blood. There are so many of these cartoons that I could select only a few for my book. Blood-drinking Jews are frequently shown by Al Ahram, one of Egypt’s leading dailies. On 21 April 2001, it printed a cartoon showing an Arab being put into a flatting mill by two soldiers wearing helmets with Stars of David. The Arab’s blood pours out and two Jews with kippot and Stars of David on their shirts drink the blood laughingly.

 “Another recurring anti-Semitic theme in Arab cartoons is the most extreme. The concept that the Jews not only murder, but preferably target children, is what the cartoonists try to convey through their imagery. This depicts the Palestinians primarily as children or babies.”

Kotek concludes that these caricatures often express a new type of anti-Semitism. “They are frequently ‘calls for murder.’ To the cartoonists, death seems the only worthy punishment that ‘the Zionist enemy’ merits.”

2 Responses

  1. Didn’t the blood-libel/blood drinking come from Christianity and was adopted by muslims after an invasion in India where the leader demanded the waters flow red with the blood of Indians and then ground flour at the mill using the bloody water and baked bread for muslim warriors.Muslims later revised the story to a Jewish action?

    And the dracula story is just a revision of the old Vlad Dracul Tepes II distortion? He was raised and trained to impale by Ottoman muslims who held him as a political prison throughout his childhood .He just turned their tactics against them.

    1. Hi Debbie, the blood libel of drinking Christian blood was introduced in great measure by the Nazis during the height of their popularity in the ME. The enjoyed great successes in the region due to the very fertile soil already there, Islamic texts have promoted its own version of anti-Jew tropes and motifs for throughout the centuries. I never heard of the story you mention and it wouldn’t surprise me that it did, seeing the mohammedan’s penchant for blood lust.

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