University of Florida’s (UF) Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter took down a cartoon from its social media platforms that Jewish groups have criticized as anti-Semitic.
The cartoon, which was posted to UF SJP’s Facebook and Twitter accounts to commemorate Nakba Day on May 15, depicts an Israeli soldier with a sinister grin and hooked nose opening a window. The Twitter account BDS Report described it as “depicting Jews as a vampire-like creature. Their image is eerily similar to Nazi-era cartoons.”
University of Florida SJP posted an antisemitic cartoon depicting Jews as a vampire-like creature. Their image is eerily similar to Nazi-era cartoons. Tell @UF to condemn @SJPUF's vile antisemitic posts. pic.twitter.com/ztYw7ING2b
— BDS Report (@BDSreport) May 18, 2020
On May 26, UF SJP announced on Facebook and Twitter that they were going to use a different graphic from the same cartoonist.
“The original featured a cartoon by the Palestinian artist Naji al-Ali, most famous for the Handala character,” the student group wrote. “Naji al-Ali was a direct victim of the ethnic cleansing campaign of 1948, being expelled from his home village at the age of 10. He drew both Arab Palestinian and Jewish characters in a similar style as can be easily seen throughout his work.”
UF SJP added: “Without such context, the cartoon was misunderstood in a way that detracted from the message of our post, which is to commemorate the beginning of the Nakba, show its continuation today, and promote awareness of Palestinian history and culture.”
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Nakba Day is a reference to the displacement of Arabs during the 1948 War for Independence; “nakba” is Arabic for catastrophe or disaster.
Al-Ali, a Palestinian cartoonist was shot in the neck in 1987 outside his office in London. He lapsed into a coma and died a month later. Officials have long thought his murder to be politically motivated, but no suspect has ever been arrested.
Some Jewish groups didn’t think that UF SJP’s statement addressing the matter was sufficient.
“The original graphic was a classic example of how SJP spreads anti-Semitism and misinformation about Israel,” Carly F. Gammill, director of the StandWithUs Center for Combating Anti-Semitism, said in a statement to the Journal. “Worse, the follow-up statement was not an apology but a shameless attempt to defend the creation and dissemination of such images, as if they are capable of having merit if properly ‘contextualized.’ UF-SJP’s statement makes clear that it is not sorry for promoting hatred against Jews.”
She called for the university to “strongly condemn both the dehumanizing graphic and the non-apology that followed.”
Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, director of the nonprofit AMCHA Initiative, similarly said in a statement to the Journal, “If I had a penny for the number of times SJP and its supporters claim their intolerant behavior is not anti-Semitic, merely anti-Zionist. Yet the meaninglessness of this claim was clearly demonstrated today when SJP used a disturbing classic anti-Semitic image to commemorate Nakba. Far too often university administrators fall into SJP’s trap, though, excusing Israel-related anti-Semitism as motivated by politics.”
She added: “With SJP members involved in more than one-quarter of the incidents of anti-Semitic intolerance that directly targeted Jewish students for harm on campuses last year, including assaults, harassment, and vandalism, it is critical that university administrators address all intolerant behavior equally, regardless of the identity of the victim or the motivation of the perpetrator. Today’s post is evidence that Jewish students will be best protected when university leaders begin enforcing that rule across the board.”
The university did not respond to the Journal’s request for comment.
