2 — THE BULLETIN — Thursday. August 30, 1979
POLITICAL CARTOONS serve a purpose. Sometimes they are educational, conveying a message with greater impact than a hard-hitting editorial. Sometimes they are intended to give the reader a laugh, an important function in media whose front pages constantly depict a world of gloom and doom.
And occasionally cartoons poke fun at presidents, prime ministers and powerful institutions, a modern-day replica of the court jester of old for whom nothing was sacred, not even a ruling monarch. What a king or queen wanted was clever, witty entertainment. If the court jester was blessed with such talent, he could succeed in getting 1ms masters to laugh at themselves. If he lacked the talent, he would usually lose his head.
Today, when a newspaper publishes a political cattoon that is grossly inaccurate, it would seelri ; only right to demand that the jester be invited to hang up his airbrush. The least that readers should expect is an apology in art form which conveys a message of regret for having made, a slip of the ^"brugh.
The specific cartoon we are referring to appeared in The Vancouver Sun on August 22. It depicts an Israeli airforce plane complete with Star of David and three "kill" emblems. Only the latter are not crosses or stars or numbers, but three identifiable figures: the first Yasser Arafat, the second Andrew Young and the third President Carter.
SEATED IN THE COCKPIT of the plane is the pilot holding up his gloved hand to indicate that he has scored another bullseye. And printed below the window are the words: "PILOT/M. BEGIN."
Now most readers are aware of the meaning of •the three markings on the^putside of the-plane., Like the notches on the handle of an ancient weapon which recorded thenumber of a sw6rds-; man's victorious battles, so, too, did fighter pilots mark their "kills." It took only a single glance at a plane to tell the story; and if he were an ace, those markings were enough to send shivers down the spines of enemy pilots before even a single shot was fired.
Thus the statement being made by the Sun cartoon is that PILOT/M. BEGIN has successfully.shot down three enemies —Arafat, Young and Carter — who are painted on the fuselage of his plane.
It is a cartoon that is dramatic, drawn by a. person who has obvious artistic talents. But there is something wrong here. In thjs writer's view the problem is that the cartoon's basic premise is highly inaccurate. On all three counts it's pure fictionf
Consider Yasser Arafat. The only justifica- -tipn for painting his picture a^nd name on M. Begin's score sheet would be his demise as a result of an attack by the Israeli airforce, army or navy or at the hands of Israeli secret agents. The Sun report of his demise, however, is premature ... and therefore inaccurate.
Even the possible argument that the drawing of Arafat and his name does not m^ah the individual perse but is intended to represent the PLO, is no less factual For acts of terrorism against innocent men, women and children are continuing on a daily basis and the PLO's political influence is growing. Recent PLO manoeuvres at the United Nations, backed by threats of the OPEC nations,
reveal just how much life there still is in this terrorist group. .
AS FOR ANDREW YOUNG, surely it would have been closer to reality had the cartoonist depicted the resignation of the American ambassador to the U.N. as an act of suicide rather than as a "kill" by PILOT/M. BEGIN.
. Not even a court jester would accuse Mr. Begin of persuading Mr. Young (a Zionist plot?) of deciding to meet secretly with representatives of the PLO thereby deliberately disobeying his government's previously announced policies.
As most people are aware, the United States had made a solemn pledge not to negotiate with the PLO as long as the latter refuses to recognize the existence of Israel. Subsequently, when a leading y:S. official took it upon himself to break that ' pledge without the knowledge or authority of his superiors, and was discovered, it seems a bit strange for a newspaper cartoonist to place the responsibility for the resignation of the aforementioned official on the Israeli prime minister, PILOT/M. BEGIN.
(If Young's departure from the U.N. was not a case of suicide, then the "kill" has to be credited to "pilot" Jimmy Carter. For it has been suggested that both Carter and the State Department were well aware of Andrew Young's initiative and that Young himself understood that he would have to be the "fall guy" if his actions were leaked prematurely).
Then we come to the third suggested "kill," a sketch of President Carter superimposed with the words "1980 ELECTION."
The reader is left with the conclusion that .PILOT/M. BEGIN has shot down President Carter's chancqs. 43L .winning 4he -U- S, presi--denti^l election next year.. ^ -. -. *
Here we have the cartoonist donning the robes of Prophecy. "It's a foregone conclusion," he is telling us, "that Carter will lose the election in 1980. And who is responsible? Why Israel, of course, for having brought about the downfall of Andrew Young. The one follows the other."
But since we have seen that Andrew Young's "kill" was in reality a suicidal action, what is the Sun cartoonist really saying here? Why is he painting Carter, the great friend of Israel who has done so much to brihg^bout the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, as a downed enemy?
Surely the cartoonist is aware of President Carter's low ratings in U.S. popularity polls and the strong criticism he has received for his * handling of the economy and particularly the energy situation. If anybody is succeeding in shooting down Carter's presidential chances in 1980, surely the villain is wearing an OPEC uniform.
May we suggest that a more accurate cartoon would have shown a Soviet Mig being fueled by an OPEC Arab sheikh and seated at the controls a pilot with an Arafatian-headdress. On the fuse-lage,^ou can take your choice from hundreds of "kills," all of them factual, all of them unfortunately, the truth: 1.) A passenger jetliner exploding; 2.) Olympic athletes murdered; 3.) Children in school bus ambushed; 4.) Women and children in an outdoor market bombed; 5.) Christian tourists at Lod Airport machine-gunned; etc. etc. etc.
BY SAM MODIANO
ATHENS —^The Greek-Arab League has protested against the showing of the four-part American film serial. Holocaust, by the Greek armed forces television and broadcasting station (Yened).
The Athens conservative daily newspaper, Kaihimerini, strongly criticised the Greek-Arab League and another Athens newspaper. Commentator, was equally caustic about the Arab attitude towards "the most horrible crime ol the present
century."
Although many of the three million Greeks who watched the film were aware from personal experience of the Nazi occupation of Greece from 1941 to 1944, most of them admitted that they had "never believed that the occupation was so bad.''
The Greek press, in daily comments during the showing of Holocaust, expressed horror at the events and compassion for the victims.
Some Athens newspapers pointed
out that Greece too, shared the world-wide sorrow for the murder of some 75,000 Greek Jews during the Second World War in Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen and other Nazi death camps. JCNS.
Holocaust Studies Chair
TEL AVIV — The Binyamin and Chaya Schapelski Chair in Holocaust Studies was dedicated at Te! -Aviv university recently by their sons, David and Nathan Shapell of Los Angeles, Calif.
BY HENRY ItONARO
a
i
"And as my Bobe used te say, 'If you step fighting... you'll have peacel'
III/
Expanding Soviet coverage vital
Dear Mr. Kaplan:
The Vancouver Soviet Jewry Action Committee wants to express its appreciation for the. continuing and expanding coverage which you have been providing for our activities, as well as the prominence you give to news stories and features about our Russian brethren.
As our committee proceeds with
7Aou9J!rf for fWeefr
bom the TALMCD
• The words of Torah that one speaks are defiled by one*s words of loshon hora (slander and gossip).
(Zohar— P'kudai)
Remember the Sabbath
Friday, August 31, 7:38 p.m. Sedra Ki Tetze, Deuteronomy Shabbat ends, Havdallah September 1, 8:38 p.m.
September 7, 7:24 p.m. Sedra Ki Tavo, Deuteronomy Shabbat ends, Havdallah September 8, 8:24 p.m.
JEWISH CALENDAR LUACH 5739 - 1979 Rosh Hashanah
5740 Sept. 22-23
Fast of Gedaliah Sept. 24
Yom Kippur Oct. 1
Succot Oct, 6-14
Hoshana Rabbah Oct, 12
Shemini Atzeret Oct. 13
Simchat Torah Oct. 14
Chanuka Dec. 15-22
the slow process of sustained growth and increased activity, we'appreciate the help and suport you are contributing in informing the community of our work.
We hope that our efforts will not only add to the level of community participation and involvement in our committee, but also will play some part in the liberation of Soviet Jews. RABBI DANIEL SIEGEL, Chairman, Vancouver Soviet Jewry Action Committee.
Endorsed Appeals
Pioneer Women Thai* Campaign Aug.l5-Sept. 15
State of Israel Bond Drive Aug. 15-Sept. 30
Social Calendar
Hadassah-Wizo Council
Luncheon Sept. 5
Beth Israel Art
Auction Sept. 9
NCJW Opening Annual
Evening Meeting Sept. 1(K
Schara Tzedeck Women^s
Branch Brunch Sept. 11
NCJW Opening Annual
Evening Meeting Sept. 12
Combined Jewish Appeal
Winnipeg ' Seminar Sept. 14-16
State oflsrael Bonds
Dinner Sept. 15
NCJW Volunteer
Workshop Sept. 17
CZF Israel Luncheon Club Sept. 25
Lillian Freiman Hadassah .
Viskor Tea Sept. 26
Lubavitch Dinner Sept. 27
THE JEWISH
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Thursday, August 30,1979
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