Guardian veteran cartoonist Steve Bell fired over this cartoon..said to be antisemetic

[Demovictory9]

It's said it harkens to "pound of flesh" phrase from Shakespeare???

[underpants]

1. Did they publish it?

If they did they shouldn’t fire him. The editors should have told him to do another one.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

5. Reading the article, sounds like it was spiked pre-publication

[hlthe2b]

2. Well, I admittedly had to google it as I somehow have never seen/read "The Merchant of Venice"

Someone demanding their pound of flesh is saying that they are determined to get what is theirs by right, no matter how it may affect anyone else and regardless of the consequences. It comes from The Merchant of Venice and is spoken by Shylock, a moneylender, who is an outcast in Venice because he's a Jew.

Not subtle... sigh

[redqueen]

9. Was Shylock cutting his own flesh? nt

[Demovictory9]

11. I think theater productions modify the portrayal of Shylock, its so problematic

[Sanity Claws]

3. I thought it meant he was hurt himself by what he was doing with Gaza.

Maybe the British go to Shakespeare more readily than I do.

[electric_blue68]

16. I didn't think of the Shylock ref, I thought like you bc he'd be cutting himself

[LexVegas]

4. Well deserved. nr

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. It's a reference to an American cartoon of LBJ and Vietnam

The Guardian has apparently declined to publish a depiction of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu by cartoonist Steve Bell, reportedly telling him the artwork perpetuated an anti-Semitic trope.

The cartoon depicts Netanyahu preparing to cut a Gaza-shaped hole in his own abdomen with a scalpel. Netanyahu has ordered a “complete siege” of the Palestinian enclave of two million after Hamas militants killed hundreds of Israeli civilians over the weekend.

Link to tweet

Shylock wasn't planning on cutting his own flesh, of course.

[redqueen]

8. Thank you for the context. nt

[yardwork]

19. There's a crucial difference. In the original, LBJ is pointing to his scar.

In this version, Netanyahu is cutting a piece of himself out. This seems to be a direct reference to the "pound of flesh," which leads right to Shylock, an infamously anti-Semitic portrayal.

[muriel_volestrangler]

23. Except, as I said, Shylock demanded someone else's flesh, not his own

In the cartoon, Netanyahu is (in boxing gloves, so it's going to be messy) about to inflict the scar on himself.

[yardwork]

24. I didn't say it was a good cartoon.

[malaise]

26. Context always matter

Thanks for clarity as always.
I expect Bell to be reinstated unless he chooses to leave.
Knowledge is power.

[BlueCheeseAgain]

7. I can't tell what's happening in that cartoon.

Is Netanyahu about to operate on himself? Why is he wearing heavy mittens?

[ret5hd]

10. My (admittedly unsophisticated) take:

Although it will be self-injurious, Netanyahu is preparing, in a very ham-fisted way, to get his pound of flesh.

[Demovictory9]

12. I think it implies Netanyahu will harm himself/Israel? with desire to get revenge on Hamas

The mittens imply thst the Gaza syriked wont be surgical but ragged and destructive

[jmowreader]

13. Boxing gloves, not mittens

[electric_blue68]

17. I wondered about the boxing gloves. Makes an action (other than a punch) clumsy

[GuppyGal]

14. I thought these cartoons are supposed to be provocative anyway.

?????

[yardwork]

20. There's a fine line between clever and stupid.

[DET]

15. Different Strokes

I don’t get this cartoon at all, but I don’t personally view it as antisemitic. I showed it to my husband, however, and he thought that it was (he’s Jewish). In any case, it’s a crappy cartoon.

[Takket]

18. yeah count me in the "i'm not sure if it is antisemetic because I don't get it" crowd

[Oneironaut]

21. Criticizing Israel is wrongthink.

You cannot criticize Israel without being an anti-Semite. That’s a fact! Any criticism of Israel means that you support the terrorists, who are the “bad guys.”

[yardwork]

25. That's nonsense.

[Pathwalker]

27. Grade A bovine excrement, cow pattie, horse pucky. duck dung, etc.

[Stuart G]

22. You think you have seen it all; then there is ...."MORE AND MORE AND EVEN MORE" !!!!

YES, WAR IS THE END RESULT OF ....."MORE AND MORE AND EVEN MORE.''