Oliphant Cartoon Is Anti-Israel, Not Anti-Semitic

A Pat Oliphant cartoon is an attack on Israel, not "hideously anti-Semitic," writes blogger Emily Moulton in Gather. The controversial cartoon shows a woman carrying a small child labeled "Gaza" being pursued by a headless Nazi pushing a giant Star of David with teeth. "The cartoon is a political statement about Israel, not an attack on Jewish people," Moulton notes.

"It calls Israel out for using religion" to back its action in Gaza, much as "bible thumpers" use religion to support their political agendas, she adds. "It's important not to get stuck in the mode of thinking that the Israeli government is beyond reproach. Past sufferings of the Jewish people shouldn't allow us to turn a blind eye to the actions of the Israeli state." The  cartoon, printed Wednesday in several newspapers, has been skewered by top Jewish organizations as anti-Semitic. (More Pat Oliphant stories.)