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Peace: The Arabian Caricature of Anti-Semitic Imagery
In his new book, The Arabian Caricature, Arieh Stav examines the anti-Semitic caricatures and illustrations of the medieval Christian Church, the Nazis, and especially the modern Arab world's graphic anti-Jewish and anti-Israel depictions. Stav explains that although "caricature as a graphical depiction... goes back to the dawn of drawing... anti-Semitic caricature is the only type that derives its contents from a unique and disturbing synthesis of theological, moral, racial, social and political negation. It is not directed at individuals, but rather at the entire Jewish people." Put bluntly, "anti-Semitic caricature, like the yellow-patch, is intended to attach the mark of Cain on the brow of the Jew." Though the images in Stav's book do not tell the whole story, they do paint a grisly picture of Arab attitudes towards peace with Israel. What should the Israeli response be? The answer, like the outcome of the peace process, is unclear. Arieh Stav is the Director of the Ariel Center for Policy Research in Tel Aviv, a non-partisan organization devoted to inclusive research and discussion of political and strategic issues concerning Israel and the Jewish people. Stav is also the editor of Nativ, a bi-monthly periodical on politics and the arts.
287 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1999
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August 22, 2018
Antisemyths, Recycled
Published in 1999, the book begins with an overview of Arab rejection of Israel as an improbable dhimmi state whose very existence is held to be an affront to Arab and/or Muslim dignity in as much as Israel's physical presence thwarts both the physical and spiritual unity of the Arab peoples. Chapters 2-4 then give an historical perspective of anti-Jewish themes both in Christianity and European secularism, concluding with depictions of Jews during the Nazi era. Chapters 5-7 focus on Arab antisemitism. Stav notes Muslim tradition greatly eschewed figurative art for religious reasons and many of the themes such as the racial stereotypes, deicide and blood libels are European both in origin and in styling. Some of this influence no doubt arises from imbibing Nazi Propaganda for the Arab World during the 1930s and 1940s, such as that developed by the likes of Johann Van Leers who escaped from Germany to Egypt after WW II. Stav cites both Sadat and Sami al-Lundi, one of the founders of the Syrian Baath party among others as examples of fondness towards German National Socialism even after that time frame.
Writes historian Bernard Lewis: (pp93) "The level of hostility and theubiquity of its expression are rarely equalled even in the European literature of anti-Semitism, which only at a few points reached this level of fear, hate and prejudice."
The second half of the book is graphic black and white editorial cartoons from Arab sources, covering a period from 1984-94, mostly from the early 1990s. Recurring motifs include Jews as Nazis, child or Christ killers , drinking or toasting with blood, hook nosed stereotypes draped as orthodox Ashkenazi garb (but never as Sephardic or Mizrahi Jews) along with imagery likening Israel to an octopus, demons. snakes or a spider bent on world domination that could have been taken from Der Sturmer. One drawing (pp234) shows two hook nosed Israeli soldiers stomping a baby girl to death while a Jewish mother complains that they are wasting blood that she needs to use to bake matzoh. Another shows a smiling soldier using a baker's paddle to insert a Palestinian child into an oven. Alternatively there are a number of drawings that have revenge themes, portraying obvious Jews or Israeli leaders being knifed or strangled. Compared to depictions of non Israeli characters, such as Americans or Arabs, it becomes quite obvious that the creators of these images are more than political - they are drawing on specifically antisemitic tropes that source themselves outside of the current conflict.
Joel Kotek's Warrant for Genocide?: Israel and the Jews in Contemporary Arab and Western Cartoons is a more up to date coverage of same and the Internet can provide numerous contemporary examples. Yaacov "Dry Bones" Kirschen has also been collecting and giving talks on similar material. (https://isgap.org/wp-content/uploads/...) Tragically these antisemyths are still around to poison what should be a necessary peace.
Published in 1999, the book begins with an overview of Arab rejection of Israel as an improbable dhimmi state whose very existence is held to be an affront to Arab and/or Muslim dignity in as much as Israel's physical presence thwarts both the physical and spiritual unity of the Arab peoples. Chapters 2-4 then give an historical perspective of anti-Jewish themes both in Christianity and European secularism, concluding with depictions of Jews during the Nazi era. Chapters 5-7 focus on Arab antisemitism. Stav notes Muslim tradition greatly eschewed figurative art for religious reasons and many of the themes such as the racial stereotypes, deicide and blood libels are European both in origin and in styling. Some of this influence no doubt arises from imbibing Nazi Propaganda for the Arab World during the 1930s and 1940s, such as that developed by the likes of Johann Van Leers who escaped from Germany to Egypt after WW II. Stav cites both Sadat and Sami al-Lundi, one of the founders of the Syrian Baath party among others as examples of fondness towards German National Socialism even after that time frame.
Writes historian Bernard Lewis: (pp93) "The level of hostility and theubiquity of its expression are rarely equalled even in the European literature of anti-Semitism, which only at a few points reached this level of fear, hate and prejudice."
The second half of the book is graphic black and white editorial cartoons from Arab sources, covering a period from 1984-94, mostly from the early 1990s. Recurring motifs include Jews as Nazis, child or Christ killers , drinking or toasting with blood, hook nosed stereotypes draped as orthodox Ashkenazi garb (but never as Sephardic or Mizrahi Jews) along with imagery likening Israel to an octopus, demons. snakes or a spider bent on world domination that could have been taken from Der Sturmer. One drawing (pp234) shows two hook nosed Israeli soldiers stomping a baby girl to death while a Jewish mother complains that they are wasting blood that she needs to use to bake matzoh. Another shows a smiling soldier using a baker's paddle to insert a Palestinian child into an oven. Alternatively there are a number of drawings that have revenge themes, portraying obvious Jews or Israeli leaders being knifed or strangled. Compared to depictions of non Israeli characters, such as Americans or Arabs, it becomes quite obvious that the creators of these images are more than political - they are drawing on specifically antisemitic tropes that source themselves outside of the current conflict.
Joel Kotek's Warrant for Genocide?: Israel and the Jews in Contemporary Arab and Western Cartoons is a more up to date coverage of same and the Internet can provide numerous contemporary examples. Yaacov "Dry Bones" Kirschen has also been collecting and giving talks on similar material. (https://isgap.org/wp-content/uploads/...) Tragically these antisemyths are still around to poison what should be a necessary peace.
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