Top American Jewish Leader: Huffington Post Netanyahu Cartoon is “Almost Worse Than Anti-Semitic”
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Ahmed Shihab-Eldin anti-Israel hate speech anti-Semite cartoon anti-Semitic cartoon anti-Semitic cartoonist Arianna Huffington Israel Blood Libel Carlos Latuff Carlos Latuff Israel Carlos Latuff Jews hate against Israel HPMonitor Huff-Watch Huffington Post anti-Semitic Huffington Post Israel Huffington Post Jews influential Rabbi Jewish leader offensive cartoon Palestinian children Rabbi Marvin Hier Simon Wiesenthal Center
The most influential Rabbis in the world today are those like Rabbi Marvin Hier, pictured above of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles who aren't afraid to take verbal jackhammers to anti-Semites, notwithstanding the discomfort it breeds among some less-vocal Jews. Photo: Wiesenthal.com.
A prominent Jewish leader who has twice been named by Newsweek at the “most influential Rabbi in America” has blasted the Huffington Post internet newspaper for running a cartoon by a notorious anti-Semite, which depicts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wringing an Arab infant as ballots with his name on them fall from the child’s body.
In an interview with The Algemeiner, Rabbi Marvin Hier, Founder and Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center said that the image by Brazilian cartoonist Carlos Latuff, which relates to Israel’s current operation in Gaza, was “absolutely outrageous and almost worse than an anti-Semitic cartoon.”
“An anti-Semitic cartoon can be recognized by the reader as such,” Hier explained, “But a cartoon where he attempts to show that Netanyahu started this (Israel’s current Pillar of Defense operation) for votes. It is almost worse than an anti-Semitic cartoon comparing Israelis to Nazis. It is an outrageous lie.”
“A respectable newspaper should know that Israel sat back while Hamas lobbed rockets into civilian population centers. Any (Israeli) Prime Minister that didn’t take action would be hounded out of office. Because Netanyahu wants to protect his citizens, he is to be considered as a person who is simply murdering or choking Palestinian children because he wants to be elected?”
Screenshot of the cartoon posted on the Huffington Post's website.
Hier also slammed the cartoonist for his history of publishing cartoons that compare Israelis to Nazis, saying, “This cartoonist does not belong on the Huffington Post, because of his record of being a purveyor of anti-Semitic cartoons.”
“He always compares Israelis to Hitler and the Nazis. For that alone, the Huffington Post should not publish any of his work.”
“If I was a cartoonist working for the Ayatollahs in Iran I would begin submitting cartoons immediately to the Huffington Post,” said the rabbi, drawing a parallel between the Huffington Post cartoon and infamously hateful imagery peddled by the Islamic Republic’s current leaders.
The influential leader who Newsweek described as “one phone call away from almost every world leader, journalist and Hollywood studio head,” said he is considering contacting Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington, whom he says he knows, and asking her to take action. “I say this as someone who knows Arianna Huffington, I am very surprised. I call on them to stop publicizing the works of a notorious anti-Semitic cartoonist. I am shocked by this and I probably will call her,” he said.
“I don’t think it is a good day for the Huffington Post,” Hier concluded.
Anonymous watchdog blog HPMonitor which first drew attention to the publication of the cartoon, called the picture “a modern twist on the classic blood libel against Jews.”
The blogger identified only as Matt wrote, “The Huffington Post and its reporter that published this story, Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, seem to have no problem with this anti-Semitic cartoon, publishing it with no condemnation and in fact support, with Shihab-Eldin claiming Ha’aretz reported Netanyahu’s approval ratings have increased.”
Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, a Huffington Post Live Host/Producer whose name appears alongside the cartoon as the author of the post, which appeared in more than one location, was brought to task earlier this year by The Algemeiner for his support of the Iranian regime.
Another watchdog blogger, at the Huff-Watch blog, wrote that Shihab-Eldin has “been re-Tweeting inflammatory rants from documented anti-Semites, and posting articles containing one-sided, inflammatory pro-Islamist propaganda.”
“His acts could only serve one purpose: to protect Hamas, and falsely vilify and incite hate against Israel,” added Huff-Watch.
The bloggers both point to a systematic climate of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiment on the Huffington Post. “The Internet news website the Huffington Post has become a home to a sub sect of commentators expressing anti-Israel hate speech and anti-Semitism,” explains the mission statement of HPMonitor. Huff-Watch writes: “Few are aware, however, that for at least the past two years, Israel and Jews have been HuffPost’s secondary ‘targets.”
At the time of publication, the Huffington Post has not responded to The Algemeiner’s request for comment.
The Huffington Post is the world’s most read online newspaper.
A full image of the offensive cartoon taken from Twitter can be viewed below.
This offensive cartoon by Carlos Latuff.
9:09 pm
What should be expected of an Aryan A$$?
Praise of Hidden Yidden?
12:23 am
As a subscriber to AOL which contracts out its news to Huffington Post, I have complained and will continue to complain to AOL about the biased coverage of Israel as part of the strong left wing slant at Huffington Post. If they don’t change, I would consider leaving AOL. The disgraceful anti-Semitic cartoon, their support for the terrorist Hamas and their European style advocacy journalism needs to be protested by every AOL member who wants fair, non extremist news on their welcoming screen.
6:41 pm
In what way is this cartoon anti-semitic or even worse than anti-semitic? It is nothing of the kind.
Politicians like Bibi always try to wring a few extra votes out of suffering.
6:49 am
Did you say Huffington Post or Der Sturmer?
12:57 pm
Jews like Hier cause ‘antisemitism’.
1:26 am
If there is anyone who questions this picture of a Jewish leader( doesn’t matter if he is a rabbi, a leader of a jewish youth group or just a plain Jewish man) strangling a Muslim baby as not propaganda, I question them of their knowledge on what blood libel, world war 2 or any other historical anti-semitic propaganda looked like. It’s sad that one thinks an identical picture of a jew with a long nose, horns or/and tail is the only type of visual propaganda used to define or describe anti semitism.
Netanyahu is the leader of an Israeli government. I would assume one knows that Israeli’s are Jewish- even if not religious.
R.rands, and Mr.Heller, it’s a shame to see you have learned nothing about our past.
If you can see a difference in this propaganda in comparison to world war 2 propaganda, maybe you should go back and look more closely at how the Jew was described in the picture with the long nose and tail.. Generally the caricature of the jew was of him doing something to cause alarm or harm to Aryan race.
I see no difference in the above picture- the Aryan person was just replaced with a Palestinian baby.
12:36 am
No, it isn’t blatantly anti-Semitic per se but it does imply that the Prime Minister started this for votes which is an egregious lie. It was the cries from the south telling the government to do something about the firing of rockets on them; and then when an IDF jeep was targeted along the border, it was like the straw that broke the camel’s back. And this didn’t just start a week ago. These rockets have been coming down on us for the past 12 years. They slowed down after Operation Cast Lead; but recently were ratcheted up. I guess Hamas wanted something to do with all the weapons they got from Iran. And by using the image of a baby, the cartoonist is saying that the Prime Minister would kill a baby for votes which should actually be used in a cartoon against Assad…not the Prime Minister of Israel!
11:25 pm
The cartoon itself is not anti-Semitic; however, it is emblematic of the anti-Semitism that underlies the artist’s, and apparently HuffPo’s, view that Bibi’s military intervention against thousands of Hamas rockets fired at Israeli citizens is a cynical ploy for votes, not a reasonable and warranted response to violent aggression.
10:57 pm
Did you say The Huffington Post or Der Sturmer?
10:49 pm
Let’s stop with the anti-Semitic debate and simply focus on what valuable message the HuffPo was trying to make by printing this cartoon.
I see only a gratuitous, irrelevant attack on Israel’s top official.
For what purpose? Please tell us …
9:21 pm
Netanyahu is a shame for us, the jews. I feel pain for those palestinians. Mr Latuff is not attacking religion: he is only attacking Netanyahu’s arrogance, pride and cinism. Israel needs another leader soon.
9:08 pm
The Huffington Post has long been hostile to Israel and Jews. For the Huffington post rag to post a cartoon like that is nothing short of Antisemitism hiding behind the veil of anti-Israel-ism. Bashing Israel and Zionism has become nothing more than a convenient cover for the spineless Antisemites.
6:15 pm
How is the cartoon anti-Semitic? It says nothing about Jews. It doesn’t show Netanyahu with so-called Jewish features or wearing stereotyped Jewish clothing. It criticizes one particular person and claims (rightly or wrongly) that he’s making war for votes. Is that impossible? Ask citizens of Chechnya about Boris Yeltsin’s war against them. Carlos Latuff is a passionate cartoonist who frequently denounces Arab leaders like Assad and Gaddafi. As for the cartoon in question it might be in bad taste, escept if you were a member of the Al-Dalou family who lost 9 people in Gaza this weekend including 4 children.
9:10 pm
Thanks to Hamas!
10:42 pm
So Stanley, you are one too.
8:15 am
Herr Heller: “absolutely outrageous and ALMOST worse than an anti-Semitic cartoon” [emphasis mine] is the major premise here. You have a problem reading,not a problem with what was said initially. If you’re quoting the follow-ons, while not the main feature of the story, they reasonably assume that this is anitsemitic because the underlying basis of most of the virulently unjustifiable and factually incorrect hostility to Israel derives from a cultural antisemitism that has been the basis of Western thought since the Church began inculcating these attitudes a couple of millenia ago.
12:04 pm
I agree with you Stanley and the fact is that the word Anti Semite is bandied about way too much. Palestinians are also Semites. Somehow that never gets mentioned.
1:15 pm
They may be Semites, but the term was created in Austria almost 200 years ago specifically to describe the cultural and social hatred of Jews for no other reason than that they are Jews.
You present the usual trope use by anti-Semites to claim that they aren’t one.
5:28 pm
Thanks for covering this. Please keep us updated at huffpomonitor@gmail.com
4:34 pm
What a shame to see such effort put into a knee-jerk reaction.
I see nothing anti-semitic about the cartoon you are objecting to. I see it as trenchant criticism of the current Israeli government.
If the cartoonist was attacking a rabbi, then your allegations of antisemitism would be more defensible. But Mr Netinyahu is not a leader of a synagogue. He is the leader of a government admministration.
Are you unable to tell the difference?
10:34 am
It is the job of the Prime Minister of Israel to PROTECT Israel’s citizens, otherwise he shouldn’t deserve to be reelected!
3:29 pm
Instead of Ahmadinejad . Ahmedinajad hamastan outpost profit from the gaza deads . The cartoonist Carlos simply reversed the roles in order to manipulate public opinion to pressure BB to a cease fire favorable to Ahmedinajad hamastan outpost .
War Result : Medias 1 – Israel Nation 0 . ): .
See You next round .
P.S. The Lefties get what they wanted in this pre-election time-period . Meaning the lefties have succeeded in undermining the war on terror Hamastan-Gaza. And have brought the Bberman-Barak coalition to de facto recognise terror Hamastan as a partner to talk to in the context of the peace process ; which is a Islamo-Lefties code word for kill the Jews. Consequently the Biberman and Barak- coalition will loose many votes on election day . Dhimmicrats Islamo-Lefties coalition with mohamedans terrorism and mistanenim win
2:59 pm
I have noted several instances of anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist remarks, references, analyses, in addition to accusations in the Huffington Post online. With disgust as well as incredulity, I have heard Huffington Post moderators refer to Israel as the “aggressor” and read an article which has Turkey’s prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan referring to Israel’s “terrorism” and “ethnic cleansing.” Very little has been posted about the Israeli need to protect itself from hundreds of rockets, missiles, and mortars fired at civilian populations by the terrorist groups in Gaza. In fact, the latter groups are never referred to as terrorist groups, but as “militants,” in the Huffington Post articles and broadcasts. No mention has been made of the fact that a large number of the Gazan victims are the recipients of the shrapnel from bombings due to their proximity to the perpetrators’ having used them as human shields. No mention is made of Israeli pilots aborting missions when civilian lives are at risk. In short, the bias and slant in the Huffington Post broadcasting and articles is palpably against Israel.