November 07, 2017
November 2, 2017 marked the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, a letter signed in 1917 by British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour expressing his country's support for the establishment of a national Jewish home in Palestine. While the UK and Israel celebrated the anniversary of this Declaration, which has become a symbol of international recognition of the Jewish right to self-determination, Palestinians and others have used the occasion to protest, and demand an apology from the British government. Some Arab media outlets published anti-Semitic and anti-Israel cartoons illustrating their refusal to acknowledge the Jewish state even a century later.
Main themes include demonizing Israel and the Balfour Declaration by depicting them as a scorpion threatening Al-Aqsa Mosque and a monstrous plant devouring all of Palestine. These cartoons further reinforced the denial of the Jewish historical connection to the Land of Israel, a hallmark of modern day anti-Semitism, as expressed in the recent infamous UNESCO resolutions.
Examples include:
