Palestinian Authority Depicts Israelis and Jews as Animals

Opinion

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas gestures during a meeting of the Fatah Revolutionary Council, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Feb. 6, 2019. Photo: Reuters / Mohamad Torokman.

Depicting Israelis and Jews as animals is one of the Palestinian Authority (PA)’s practices in its cartoons. The depiction of Israel as a crocodile has appeared a few times recently in the official PA daily. In the below cartoon Israel — the crocodile with an Israeli flag on its snout – is opening its jaws to reveal rows of houses with red roofs, characteristic of Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria. [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 20, 2023]

Last month, the PA daily printed this cartoon below, also showing Israel as a crocodile, this time with fangs protruding from its mouth with Stars of David on them, and houses with red roofs on its head and back.

Text on cartoon in English and Arabic: “Settlement” [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, June 15, 2023]

The crocodile image is not new. Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) has documented similar cartoons in the past like this one of a crocodile closing its jaws on buildings that have an Israeli security wall in front of them:

Text on cartoon in English and Arabic: “State of Palestine” [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 5, 2021]

PMW even documented a cartoon 20 years ago in which a crocodile with a Star of David is swallowing up a Palestinian man:

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Oct. 9, 2003]

For over almost three decades PMW has exposed the PA’s demonization and animalization of Israel in cartoons and images. Other repeating comparisons include Israel as a poisonous snake, a shark, a scorpion, a black raven killing the dove of peace, and even as COVID.

Itamar Marcus is the Founder and Director of Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article first appeared.

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