During the past few weeks, tensions have been high across Israel and the Palestinian territories, spurred by a wave of Palestinian terrorism, Israel’s military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, ongoing violence by Jewish extremists against Palestinians, rockets fired from the Gaza Strip, and Israel’s continued settlement building across the West Bank.
An ADL review of cartoons related to these developments that were published in Arab-language media outlets highlight a common theme: Israeli zoomorphism, and the use of menacing and vicious animal forms to depict Israel, its policies, people, and leadership.
These cartoons serve to dehumanize Jews and Israel by employing classical antisemitic depictions of Jews as menacing octopi or snakes, as well as by using more contemporary depictions of Jews as crocodiles.
Sadly, these hate-filled cartoons have been a constant presence in Arab media outlets for many decades, and attest to the persistence of the negative perception of Jews and internalization of certain antisemitic tropes throughout the Arab world.
Here are some recent examples:
Al-Quds Al-Arabi, July 3, 2023 (UK)
Headline: “(The Refugee) Camp”
Note: This cartoon refers to Israel’s July 3rd military operation in Jenin refugee camp.
Al-Ghad, July 4, 2023 (Jordan)
Headline: “Jenin”
Filastin, June 2023 (Gaza)
Headline: “Settlers Desecrate the Holy Quran”
Note: This cartoon relates to reports of an Israeli settler who stole and ripped up a Koran from a West Bank mosque.
Oman Daily, February 18, 2023 (Oman)
Filastin, June 2023 (Gaza)
Headline: “The Occupation Deliberates a Settlement Plan that Will Prevent the Establishment of a Palestinian State”
Al-Quds, June 30, 2023 (Palestinian Authority)
Note: The snakes represent “the settlements.”
Al-Quds Al-Arabi, June 29, 2023 (UK)
Note: The crocodile represents “the settlements.”
Al-Quds, May 24, 2023 (Palestinian Authority)
