The British newspaper The Guardian has decided not to renew the contract of the well-known English political cartoonist Steve Bell for a cartoon depicting the Israeli leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, perceived by the newspaper as anti-Semitic.
The controversial illustration shows Netanyahu carrying out surgery on his own stomach, in which a cut in the shape of the Gaza Strip can be seen.
Bell indicated on platform Shakespeare in his play The Merchant of Venice.
He said he sent his drawing to the newspaper and that “four hours after” sending it, he received a “dire phone call from the editorial office with the strangely cryptic message ‘pound of flesh’.”
The illustrator remembers that he responded to that call with “sorry, I don’t understand” and that the explanation given to him by someone from the newspaper’s editorial staff was: “Jewish type; flesh line; anti-Semitic simile.”
The character of the moneylender Shylock, from The Market of Venice, is considered one of the most notorious Jewish stereotypes in English literature due to his stingy nature. In the play, Shylock asks for a “pound of flesh” from his friend Antonio as collateral to grant a loan, if it is not paid within a three-month deadline.
The cartoonist himself maintained that his caricature of Netanyahu was inspired by a comic from the 1960s about former United States President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Speaking to the BBC, Bell said that the Guardian’s interpretation “made no sense, as there were no references to that work in the cartoon, which shows Netanyahu going to perform a surgical operation on himself while wearing gloves.” boxing, the catastrophic consequences of what remains to be seen” in reference to the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
“The image in question was inspired by the late and brilliant David Levine’s cartoon of President Lyndon Johnson showing the scar from his operation, which Levine draws in the shape of a map of Vietnam,” notes the British illustrator.
For its part, a spokesperson for The Guardian noted Monday that “a decision has been made not to renew Steve Bell’s contract” and added that his cartoons “have been an important part of the ‘Guardian’ over the last 40 years.” years, we thank him and wish him the best.
