Renaming “I.S.R.A.E.L. Attack”

Certainly, there is a difference between criticizing people who use the name of Muhammad to justify acts of terror and I likening Israel to a child-murdering robot, but I really hope that none of the people who thought Comedy Central should have stood up and not censored “South Park” aren’t on the side of advocating that the cable channel pull this reference:

Comedy Central has changed the title of a video game on its Web site, but has not removed the offensive game, which includes anti-Semitic stereotypes.

The on-line game “I.S.R.A.E.L. Attack” has been renamed “Drawn Together: The Movie: The Game,” according to Honest Reporting, though the graphic with the game’s original name remains. In addition, the game’s introduction, in which a character states “You lied to me, Jew Producer” before the Intelligent Smart Robot Animation Eraser Lady (I.S.R.A.E.L.) is sent to murder children and wreak destruction, has been removed.

As part of a campaign to remove the offensive game, a number of bloggers including some that have no link to Israel or Jewish causes, joined in pressuring Comedy Central, according to Honest Reporting.

As of Monday, the Facebook group “Comedy Central – I.S.R.A.E.L. Attack game is offensive. Remove it” had more than 2,700 members.

“Comedy Central appears to have recognized that the anti-Semitism of the “Jew Producer” was unacceptable and removed it. But why is the game still online? Does Comedy Central believe that the association of Israel with child killing is any more acceptable? Impressionable young minds will still be able to play this game online, thus contributing to the misrepresentation and demonization of Israel,” Honest Reporting said in an e-mail to supporters.

“We would hope that Comedy Central never intended to cause such offense. However, the network’s attempt to quietly bury the issue without even publicly addressing it indicates that Comedy Central knows very well that it has erred.”

Comedy Central has not returned calls to JTA.

Offensive or not—and, considering the history of the blood libel and the way such lies were used to incite violence against Jews, I’d say offensive—either everything is OK or nothing is.