This report examines the 44 cartoons from Tony Auth pertaining to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that were published by The Philadelphia Inquirer between October 3, 2000 and August 20, 2003.

Each of the 45 cartoons was classified under one of the following categories:

(1) Critical of Arafat and the Palestinians

(2) Critical of Sharon and the Israelis

(3) Critical of both sides

Using the above classification, the breakdown of the 45 cartoons is as follows:

(1) Critical of Arafat and the Palestinians: 25

(2) Critical of Sharon and the Israelis: 9

(3) Blaming both sides: 10

2.0 Executive summary

The striking fact that 80% of Mr. Auth’s cartoons blame Arafat and the Palestinians either exclusively (57%) or partially (23%) for the violence in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, vs. 20% that directly blame Sharon and the Israelis, places Mr. Auth squarely within the camp that puts the primary blame for the crisis on the Palestinians.

2.1 Arafat is the source of all evil

Mr. Auth’s simplistic depiction of President Arafat mirrors closely the official Israeli position:

(a) Arafat is the main force behind the violence

(b) Arafat is instigating Palestinian youth to carry out suicide bombings

(d) Arafat is an obstacle to peace

(e) Israeli actions against Arafat are primarily caused by Arafat himself

The fact that Mr. Arafat has been confined for almost two years to a single building, that Israeli tanks surround his bombed out compound round the clock, and all communications he has with the outside world and all visitors he receives are closely monitored by the Israelis, are totally left out of the picture. Somehow, it seems, Arafat is obviously in control of all things Palestinian, and no further comment is necessary.

2.2 The Palestinians are causing their own suffering

Also striking are the 6 cartoons that blame the Palestinians for their own plight. In other words, the Palestinians are doing it to themselves. Tellingly, not a single cartoon by Mr. Auth blamed the Israelis for their suffering.

2.3 The Israelis are mainly guilty of bad tactics

7 out of the 9 cartoons critical of Israel focused exclusively on Israeli tactics and not underlying Israeli policies. Given that Israeli actions are generally cast in news items as “retaliations”, criticism about tactics is one of the weakest forms of criticism against Israel.

2.4 Misleading cartoons

Five cartoons deserve special attention because they clearly depict a reality that is quite different from the basic facts.

05/23/01: depicts Arafat and Sharon shaking hands and simultaneously saying, “Then it’s agreed! Each of us agrees to the sections of the Mitchell Plan that apply to the other”. The basic fact is that the Palestinians officially accepted the plan as is, while the Israelis had numerous official, on-the-record, reservations about the plan.

03/07/02: depicts Arafat and Sharon both discharging an automatic weapon, while a door between them labeled “Diplomacy” remained shut, with the caption saying, “’After you, Sharon, ‘ ‘No, after you Arafat,’ ‘No, after you…’, ‘No..”’, ‘No…’”. The basic fact, repeatedly ignored by the US media, is that president Arafat has constantly offered to sit down anytime, anywhere, with anyone willing to talk, and negotiate. This is especially misleading since Sharon and the Americans have steadfastly refused to negotiate with Arafat.

03/29/02: depicts the Beirut Arab summit attendees (March 2002) in a foxhole, saying, “Our message to Israel just went off”, with the flash of a suicide bomb in the horizon. This cartoon is misleading since it depict the Arabs sending the exact opposite message that they actually did send on March 28, 2002, one day BEFORE the cartoon was published:

The Arab countries affirm the following: a. Consider the Arab-Israeli conflict ended, and enter into a peace agreement with Israel, and provide security for all the states of the region. b. Establish normal relations with Israel in the context of this comprehensive peace.[1]

05/01/03: depicts the road map shot through, with a big hole in the middle of it. The fact is that the Palestinians immediately accepted the Road Map as is, while the Israeli had fourteen sets of reservations against it. Having Sharon and Abbas hold the map as though both were equally desirous of its success is grossly misleading.

05/08/03:depicts Arafat and Sharon driving a beat-up car, with Arafat saying, “I’d rather fight than ask for directions,” and Sharon saying, “We agree”. Again, the basic fact mentioned in example 2 above is simply ignored.

2.5 Not mentioned in cartoons

Israeli actions offer an incredibly rich source of material for criticism to a cartoonist out to expose abuse of power, hypocrisy, double-speak, human rights violations, absurd policy-making, senseless declarations, etc.

A few examples:

Ariel Sharon to this day continues to build settlements, and yet, incredibly, not a single cartoon from Tony Auth addresses the issue of settlement building and the absurd proposition that the settlements are important for ensuring Israeli security.

The Israeli army continues to routinely assassinate members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, predictably killing innocent civilians in the process, and then expressing “regret”: not a single cartoon addressed this patent disregard by the Israeli army for innocent lives.

Whole towns are kept under house arrest for 23 hours/day for months, with hundreds of people effectively punished for the actions of a miniscule minority: not a single cartoon addressed this issue.

The fact the 6,500 settlers are ensconced among 1 million Palestinians in Gaza, and the fact that the life of one million Palestinians is totally made hellish at the convenience of the Israeli settles: not a single cartoon addressed this issue.

There is a long list of such gross violations that an unfettered cartoonist should relish exposing, and yet, astonishingly, Mr. Auth has not bothered to point out any of them. (For more, see Section 3.2.3.)

2.6 Recommendations

If we have to make one recommendation to Mr. Auth it is to request that he widen his critical vision to the whole context of the conflict. The current perspective adopted by Mr. Auth is narrowly focused on one aspect of the conflict – albeit an important aspect: violence against Israelis. But this narrow perspective is precisely the perspective constantly pushed and promoted by Israeli officials and their supporters, and Mr. Auth, if nothing else, should be at least uncomfortable that his cartoons are so much in line with the official view of any government. We expect and hope that Mr. Auth’s cartoons reflect the informed sensitivity and the commitment to basic principles of human rights that he routinely displays on other issues.

3.0 Detailed analysis

3.1 Criticism of Arafat and the Palestinians

Criticism of Yasser Arafat

14 out of the 25 cartoons critical of Arafat and the Palestinians depicted Yasser Arafat.

Responsible for violence against the Israelis

In 5 of the 14 cartoons, Arafat is depicted as being directly behind the violence.

2: with blood on his hands (10/15/01, 06/11/03)
1: Riding a herd of camel obviously concealing missiles (10/02/01)
1: Riding a bombed out bus (12/04/01)
1: Shooting an automatic and saying, “Damn, I wonder how you turn this thing off….” (12/18/01)

Instigating children to become suicide bombers

In 2 of the 14 cartoons, Arafat is shown promoting children to become suicide bombers.

1: leading children off a cliff into “martyrdom” (10/26/00)
1: promoting suicide bombers (04/04/02)

Responsible for the ruin of Palestinians

1: surrounded by ruins and waving the “V” (05/03/02)
1: wringing money out of Palestinians (03/06/03)
1: at a cross roads, debating whether to take the road to freedom or the road to war (12/31/00)

Blocking peace negotiations

1: Arafat the road block to peace (04/22/03)

Responsible for his own predicament

2: strapped to a suicide belt (06/06/01, 06/26/02)
1: surrounded by guns and smiling (09/25/02)

Criticism of Palestinians

11 cartoons criticize and blame the Palestinians for the violence.

Palestinians are doing it to themselves

6 out of the cartoons critical of Arafat and the Palestinians blame the Palestinians for their own plight:

Palestinians throwing stones and “deconstructing” their state (10/12/00)
Palestinians throwing stones, only to discover that a “Sharon” fortress was built with their stones (02/08/01)
A bombed diplomacy bus (04/14/02)
A bombed “Palestinian state” bus (06/20/02)
An Arab throwing out a bomb (05/21/03)
A skeletal hand clasping a stick of dynamite (08/20/03)

Palestinians celebrating death

Depicting a Palestinian dancing with a skeletal figure (death), with a new quote for a caption:” thousands of Palestinians danced in the streets in celebration of the massacre of seven Jews at Hebrew University” (08/07/02)

Arabs opposing peace

Depicting the Beirut Arab summit attendees (March 2002), in a foxhole, saying, “Our message to Israel just went off”, with the flash of a suicide bomb in the horizon (03/29/02)

The March 29 cartoon is especially misleading, since it depict the Arabs sending the exact opposite message that they actually did send on March 28, 2002, one day BEFORE the cartoon was published:

Palestinians going to hell

A Palestinian, addressing the devil, saying: “Er… I guess I should forget about the seventy virgins, huh?” (12/01/02)

In support of Israelis policies

An Israeli soldiers welcoming an American, “Welcome, Brother” (09/13/01)
Israelis in a tank, racing past a stop sign, saying, “The sooner we get where we’re going, the sooner we can stop…” (04/09/02)

3.2 Criticism of Sharon and the Israelis

3.2.1 Criticism of tactics

Of the 9 cartoons critical of Sharon and the Israelis: (a) 5 focused on Sharon, criticizing his harsh military-driven policies, with Arafat making an appearance in two of those cartoons (03/15/02 and 05/07/02) , hence putting into the cartoons some of Sharon’s rationale for the harsh policies; (b) 2 showing an Israeli tank chiding a Palestinian; and (c) 2 criticizing other Israeli policies against the Palestinians (09/06/01, 07/31/03). In other words 7 out of the 9 cartoons critical of Israel focused exclusively on Israeli strategy and not Israeli policy. Given that Israeli actions are generally cast in news items as “retaliations”, criticism about strategy is one of the weakest forms of criticism against Israel.

3.2.2 Criticism of policy

The 2 cartoons that stand as an exception are those of 09/06/01 and 07/31/03. The first is a rare criticism in the US media in general of the Barak “offers” in Camp David in August 2000, and the second is a reference to the “separation wall” that is currently being built. The first, it is worth noting, was published more than one year after the Camp David negotiations, and hence was a little bit out of context. The second, which prompted an outcry and accusations of anti-Semitism against Mr. Auth from pro-Israel supporters, needlessly injected religion into the picture, when a much less charged depiction of the wall and its devastation of Palestinian life could have made the point across much more effectively.

3.2.3 Omitted criticism

But perhaps the greatest failure in Mr. Auth’s criticism of Israeli actions are the glaring omissions. In none of Mr. Auth’s cartoons are the following pointed out:

The fact that the Israeli army routinely assassinates members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and predictably kills innocent civilians in the process, and then expresses “regret”
The fact that whole towns are kept under house arrest for 23 hours/day for months
The fact the 6,500 settlers are ensconced among 1 million Palestinians in Gaza, and the fact that the life of one million Palestinians is totally made hellish at the convenience of the Israeli settles
The fact that Israelis routinely shell civilian areas, predictably kill innocent civilians, and then express “regret”
The fact that Israeli settlements in Gaza are lavish white-washed housing complexes, with swimming pools, etc.
The roadblocks and the checkpoints
The Beirut declaration, adopted unanimously by Arabs in March 28, 2002, in which Arabs offered Israel full normalization in return for an equitable resolution of the conflict with the Palestinians
The fact that Ariel Sharon to this day continues to build settlements
The fact that Palestinians have died because they could not get to hospital
The fact that Ariel Sharon continued assassinating members of Hamas and Islamic Jihas even after these organizations declared a cease-fire on June 29, 2003, and by and large stuck to it
The fact that Israeli soldiers are refusing to serve in the Occupied Territories
The fact that Israel is in violation of some 68 United Nations resolutions
The fact that Sharon’s policies have not kept suicide bombers from killing innocent Israeli civilians
The fact that human rights organizations have called Israeli actions war crimes and crimes against humanity
The fact that American activists defending Palestinians have been killed and injured by the Israeli army
The fact that journalists have been attacked, killed, and injured by the Israeli army

3.3 Criticism of both sides

Of the 9 cartoons classified as “critical of both sides”, 4 grossly misrepresent some basic facts.

(1) 05/23/01: depicts Arafat and Sharon shaking hand and simultaneously saying, “The it’s agreed! Each of us agrees to the sections of the Mitchell Plan that apply to the other”. The basic fact is that the Palestinians officially accepted the plan as is, while the Israelis had official, on-the-record, reservations about the plan.

(2) 03/07/02: depicts Arafat and Sharon both discharging an automatic weapon, while a door between them labeled “Diplomacy” remained shut, with the caption saying, “’After you, Sharon, ‘ ‘No, after you Arafat,’ ‘No, after you…’, ‘No..”’, ‘No…’”. The basic fact, repeatedly ignored by the US media, is that president Arafat has constantly offered to sit down anytime, anywhere, with anyone willing to talk, and negotiate. This is especially misleading since Sharon and the Americans have steadfastly refused to negotiate with the Palestinians.

(3) 05/01/03: depicts the road map shot through, with a big hole in the middle of it. The fact is that the Palestinians immediately accepted the Road Map as is, while the Israeli had fourteen reservations against it. Having Sharon and Abbas hold the map as though both were equally desirous of its success is grossly misleading.

(4) 05/08/03:depicts Arafat and Sharon driving a beat-up car, with Arafat saying, “I’d rather fight than ask for directions,” and Sharon saying, “We agree”. Again, the basic fact mentioned in (2) above is simply ignored.

[1] “Arab Peace Initiative: full text,” The Guardian, March 28, 2002. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4383912,00.html

[2] “Arab Peace Initiative: full text,” The Guardian, March 28, 2002. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4383912,00.html