Wednesday, July 26, 2006

A Cartoon Deja vu - Norway on the chopping block this time

I couldn’t believe what I was reading. This story could have been a sketch on SNL. The parallels between these cartoons and the infamous Mohammad cartoons from Denmark are remarkable.

Israel's ambassador to Norway has complained to press regulators about a cartoon showing Israeli PM Ehud Olmert as a Nazi concentration camp commander.

Miryam Shomrat told the BBC the caricature in Oslo's Dagbladet newspaper went beyond free speech.

Ms Shomrat said it would be open to prosecution in some European countries.

Dagbladet's editor said the caricature was "within the bounds of freedom of expression," according to Norway's NRK state broadcaster.

Ms Shomrat made the official complaint to the Norwegian Press Trade Committee following the publication of the cartoon on 10 July.

In an interview with the BBC's Europe Today, she said however that her protest could not be compared to the outcry in the Muslim world over the publication in a Danish newspaper of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed.

Lars Helle, Dagbladet's acting editor-in-chief, said the newspaper was taking the complaint seriously.

"But I do not fear that Dagbladet will be found guilty," Mr Helle told the NRK.

The cartoon shows Mr Olmert standing on a balcony in a prison camp.

He is holding a sniper's rifle and a dead man is seen lying on the ground.

The drawing clearly alluded to the Hollywood film Schindler's List, in which a sadistic Nazi commander shoots Jewish prisoners for fun, according to Dagbladet. [source]

I don’t want to get into a whole new discussion over the cartoon issue. But I don’t think a fair comparison could be drawn between a Nazi Olmert vs. a Terrorist Mohammad.

Don’t you love the world we’re living in?

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12 Comments:

  • At 7/26/2006 2:14 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    The only problem I see with that cartoon is that they forgot to put Nazi Olmert's partner Nazi Bush standing by his side.

     
  • At 7/26/2006 3:48 PM, Blogger SH said…

    There is only one difference between this and the Muhammad cartoon: no-one in Israel gives a s**t about it. We don't burn embassies, we don't threaten to kill the editors, and there are no riots on streets.

    Vive la difference...

     
  • At 7/26/2006 4:36 PM, Blogger agger said…

    Well, the Israeli embassador gave enough about it to complain, after all? So maybe some people in Israel do give a s**t about?

     
  • At 7/26/2006 6:17 PM, Blogger x said…

    I find it interesting how many Israelis conisdered the Mohammed cartoons free speech, but now that Mr. Olmert is protrayed as a Nazi, free speech suddenly hit it's limits.

     
  • At 7/26/2006 6:21 PM, Blogger x said…

    Shai as a matter of fact Jews in Norway called the cartoon anti-semitism read below
    Cartoonist Finn Graff’s work appeared on July 10 in the major Oslo daily, Dagbladet. It sparked outrage in Norway’s small Jewish community.

    The Norwegian Israel Center Against Anti-Semitism, an Oslo organization of Jews and Christians, has appealed to the government to speak out against hatred of Jews.

    “We have launched a campaign to get Norwegians to send letters to the minister of justice to make Norway a safer place for Jews,” said Erez Urieli, the center’s founder.

    The Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles sent a letter to the Norwegian ambassador to Washington, expressing “collective outrage” over publication of the cartoon. source --> http://blogs.timesunion.com/editors/?p=342

     
  • At 7/27/2006 3:24 AM, Blogger Abufares said…

    Omar
    NO COMMENT is the best I can muster under the present circumstances.
    Please note that I'm doing so under self-imposed restraint.
    It's either that or outrage and I've decided that they don't deserve even a comment.

     
  • At 7/27/2006 8:36 AM, Blogger SH said…

    Omar,

    There always will be someone to react to this kind of caricatures.

    But I guarantee you, inside Iserael it is of no interest. I saw a tiny article about it in the newspaper, once, and that's it.

    Taking carticatures too seriously is the specialty of others :)

     
  • At 7/27/2006 7:41 PM, Blogger x said…

    I said I'm not going into the cartoon issue, so this will be my last comment on this post.

    When Shia says "Taking carticatures too seriously is the specialty of others" she's implying that Arabs or Muslims are the ones who usually take such things seriously. Tamuna you're saying that in Israel people are not going to burn embassies, you're also implying the same point as Shia.

    It's true embassies were burned, and threats were made. But those actions represent a very small minority of Arabs. I'm sure there a minority in Israel who are willing to go such extents. After the embassies were torched every Syrian blogger condemned what happened in Damascus and we were all ashamed of it. In fact we all agreed to post our condemnation of what happened, a post that was signed by virtually all bloggers. So please don't generalize.

    Furthermore, you have to look at the shear number of poeple offended in each situation. We are looking at 1 billion muslims angered by the cartoons vs a few million Jews. So even a minority of 1 billion will be a relatively large number of people. Thus, the actions of those individuals will actually create a serious enough impact, such as embassy burning. Combine that with a media that loves to show the "true nature" of Arabs, and you have people, as your self, believing that all arabs act in such a violent fashion.

    So before you run along repeating phrases like "Taking carticatures too seriously is the specialty of others" please check the facts and look into the situation deeper.

     
  • At 7/28/2006 11:20 PM, Blogger SH said…

    Omar,

    I did not say anything about all arabs or "the nature" of arabs. That would be rediculous.

    Anyhow, I didn't mean to offend you. However I do think mentality plays a role, and it is not all about numbers.

    BTW, I'm male, and my name is Shai :)

     
  • At 7/31/2006 5:02 AM, Blogger Lilly said…

    am with Omar in what hes say, BTW it was scary when the embassies were torched i was there

     
  • At 7/31/2006 8:27 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    absolutly love this world we live in (note the sarcasm incase some are thick enough not to tell without it being pointed out)...

    This whole issue with lebanon and the cartoons with the Prophets...man it all gives me a headache...damn

     
  • At 11/07/2015 1:49 AM, Blogger oakleyses said…

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