On the left, Bendib cartoon (2000) depicting a gorilla with a Star of David and its arms and legs over the globe. On the right, cartoon by Nazi artist Josef Plank showing an octopus with a Star of David over its head and its tentacles encompassing a globe. (1938)
♦
Left: Cartoon by Bendib depicting Anti-Defamation League leader Abe Foxman using an antisemitic stereotype common in early 20th c. Germany and Austria (right).
♦
Left: Bendib cartoon depicting a genie holding a bag with a dollar sign, a Star of David and the names of three American Jewish organizations. Right: Picture from the Nazi children's book, Der Giftpilz (The Toadstool). Its caption reads: "Money is the God of the Jews."
♦
Left: Bendib's depcition of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as a cannibal. Right: A Nazi poster depicting Jews as "warmongers and war extenders." Note similarity in stereotyped Jewish facial features.
♦ ♦ ♦
According to Nazi propaganda, “international Jewry” was in control behind the scenes in the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and the United States. As such, Nazi propagandists depicted World War Two as a Jewish war against Nazi Germany. The following are examples of this Nazi propaganda theme.
Left: A Jewish Puppeteer Controlling Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt. Middle: “One eats the other - the Jew will eat all.” Right: The Jew leading Churchill
Bendib’s cartoons follow a similar theme, but instead depicts Jews and/or Zionists behind the scenes controlling the United States and other Western powers in a war against Palestinians, Arabs and Islam. The following are examples of Bendib’s cartoons promoting this theme.
♦
Bendib cartoon depicting a “Zionist” puppeteer controlling US politics.
♦
In this cartoon, Bendib echoes the Nazi propaganda myth of Jewish control over politics, culture and the media. Note character saying, “Puttin’ back the hood in Yahood.” (The Arabic word for Jew is “Yahood.”) The target in this cartoon is unmistakeably Jews, not "Zionists".
♦
♦
♦
♦
Another Nazi propaganda theme was the revival of the medieval “blood libel” that accused Jews of murdering Christian children to use their blood for baking Passover Matzo.
On right, Der Stürmer, May 1934: headline: “The Jewish Murder Plan” On left: Der Stürmer, May 1939, headline: “Ritual Murder” Both cartoons depict Jews collecting the blood of Christian children
♦
In the following cartoon, Bendib creates a variation on this theme with the accusation that Israeli Jews are “harvesting Palestinian organs.”
Bendib Exposed 
I’m thrilled that you’re exposing this blatant hatred! Amazing to think This guy is loved by many on the far left, especially in Berkeley. I think it’s reprehensible.
Pingback: The Museum of Childrens Art: The Controversy Continues «ScrollPost.com
I don’t think all of Bendib’s cartoons are all that insightful or cynically humorous, but these connections you’re making between his cartoons and the anti-Semitic cartoons of Nazi-era Germany are tenuous at best. The vast majority of these are aimed at Israel (specifically the Israeli government) and its lobbyists in Washington and elsewhere, whereas the cartoons from Der Sturmer and the like were aimed at Jews as an ethnic group (a relatively new categorization, as the antisemitism of the Middle Ages, an example of which you point to in the section about blood libels — Der Sturmer’s use of this type of antisemitism is worth a separate discussion in and of itself — was aimed at Jews as a religious group, since ethnicity wasn’t even really a concept at the time). The fact that the Star of David appears somewhere in many of these cartoons is clearly due to the state of Israel’s choice to use it as the preeminent symbol on its national flag, rather than due to its association with Judaism as a religion: in the “Ventriloquist Extraordinaire” cartoon, for example, the Star is fenced on its vertical sides by the same lines that appear on the Israeli flag (where they apparently represent the Tallit). Likewise, while I think the caricaturized drawing of Abe Foxman doesn’t bear much resemblance to the man, that of Ariel Sharon is about as accurate as a caricature can be. A caricature of someone who is Jewish isn’t necessarily one with an antisemitic bent, despite the author’s statement to the implied contrary: “Note similarity in stereotyped Jewish facial features.”
Ultimately, I think this post willfully ignores two major elements. First, attendant context in these case of those cartoons which are topical (which describes most of them). For example, the “Israel Makes the Desert Bloom” cartoon at the end appeared after the the publishing of Donald Bostrom’s exposé article in Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet on organ harvesting allegedly committed by the IDF on the bodies of Palestinians killed during the First Intifada. Second, this post ignores the facts about the global Zionist enterprise and the way it works. Of course I’m not speaking of some international cabal wherein all Jews of rank work secretly behind closed doors to control the world and empower Israel. It is foolish, inaccurate, and ultimately insulting to the sheer ingenuity and effectiveness of the Zionist project to deny the fact that, from its inception in its currently-understood form at the end of the 19th century, the Zionist movement organized itself in such a way that maximized an inflow of capital and resources to the organization(s) on the ground in Palestine working to create a state (first the Jewish Agency, then the state apparatus), maximized an inflow of immigrants from all over the world to the state attempting to be created, and played the diplomatic game with world leaders better than any non-state actor before it. In addition to this, and possibly the most monumental and awe-inspiring achievement of world Zionism, it literally created the Jewish national group from what was on the one hand, in 19th century Europe, an ethnicity separate from those who saw themselves as a majority in their respective nation-states (e.g. the French ethnicity, the German ethnicity), and on the other hand, a disparate and geographically separated grouping of individuals who shared common religious beliefs and practices (i.e. Judaism). It did all of this while fighting both European nationalist antisemitism and the assimilationist tendencies and motivations of many, if not most upper- and middle-class European Jews. My point is this: groups that form the “Israel lobby” are very much real, as is the World Zionist Organization, the Jewish Agency, the Jewish National Fund, and a host of other organizations who, while working in their own section, collaborate with each other in order to effect what they see as best for Israel. Included in this coalition are countless individuals, from judges in many countries to media moguls to the owners of casino enterprises to individuals from all economic classes, and more. Not all of these individuals agree on every detail, and there is as much debate within the organizations as between them, but they all share a common goal and purpose in furthering the Zionist cause. Denying that for the purposes of making someone or his/her creations seem antisemitic is not only outright denying history, but it’s also shorting the drive, capability, and ingenuity of those involved, past and present, with the Zionist project.
Nate
If one criticizes in a cartoon an African state using Little Sambo caricatures, that is racism. If one criticizes the Jewish state using classic anti-Jewish stereotypes, that is antisemitism.
First, you are correct to state that the Abe Foxman caricature doesn’t “bear much resemblance to the man.” It does, however, bear a striking resemblance to the classic stereotyped portrayal of Jews in Nazi and other antisemitic propaganda.
Secondly, I do not deny the great achievements of Zionism, nor do I deny the right of anybody to criticize Israeli policies. What I do contend is the use of antisemitic stereotypes in furtherance of such criticism. Benddib’s use of such stereotypes is abundant (I only shared a small sampling of his cartoons) and clearly aimed at Jews, as Jews. How else to explain the Foxman caricature, or the “Jewish neighborhoods” cartoon (“Puttin’ back the hood back in Yahood.”)
Regarding Bostrom, your argument falls flat in face of the full story. First, Bostrom never claimed to have proven anything in his article. As you said, it was an allegation. At best, his “expose” was nothing more than the retelling of rumors that Israel was stealing organs from Palestinians that died in custody. His “expose” exposed nothing and proved nothing. The Palestinians he quoted have since denied making those accusations in the first place. And, according to Haaretz on November 4, 2009, “Speaking at a media conference (in Israel)… Donald Bostrom admitted he had no proof beyond the allegations of the families of Palestinians killed by the Israeli army.”
Writing about this episode Yossi Klein Halevi said: “In the current discourse in Europe on the Middle East conflict, the most outrageous lies about Israel become credible. No real proof is required to accuse the Jewish state of crimes that seem to be dredged from Europe’s oldest and darkest fantasies about the Jews. It is Israel’s responsibility to prove it is innocent.”
And so it was with Bendib. Bostrom had “no proof” and nor does Bendib. Just repeat a lie often enough and for the prejudiced mind it is “truth.” Over the centuries millions were, and still are, ready to believe the worst about Jews (Satan’s spawn, Christ-killers, drinkers of Christian blood, poisoners of wells, global conspiracies to rule the world, etc.) so adding the harvesting of Palestinian organs to sell for profit is just one more variation on an ancient and toxic theme.
Thirdly, replacing the word “Jew” with the word “Zionist” is a cheap ploy, a rhetorical slight of hand. Antisemitc tropes are often dredged into the debate about Israel and Palestine, and Bendib is guilty of this. In many cases he is clear that he means Jews, not just Zionists.
Let’s reverse the situation a moment. Criticizing Arab states or non-state actors (organizations, parties, etc.) is legitimate. But, using cartoons criticizing these entities using classic anti-Arab stereotypes is racist. The same holds when using classic anti-Jewish stereotypes based in the antisemitic racism of late 19th c. and early 20th c. Europe.
If Bendib wishes to stop being accused of antisemitism there is an easy solution. First, apologize to Jews for his mistake, and then in all future cartoons avoid the use of racist anti-Jewish caricatures. Failing that, I will continue to compare and contrast his cartoons with those of Nazi Germany and other antisemites.
Pingback: שלי יחימוביץ' משתמשת בממים אנטישמים כתעמו