Earlier this week, The Israeli Cartoon Project (TICP) posted a Buzzfeed listicle of “Ten Extremely Accurate Cartoons that Depict the Hypocrisy of BDS.” The article was posted to give readers an accurate perspective of Israel’s situation, as well as publicizing TICP’s display at YNet’s Anti-BDS Conference in Jerusalem that took place on Monday.
However, the post was immediately taken down because it did not comply with Buzzfeed’s community guidelines. A similar situation occurred a few months back. Buzzfeed claimed that a post, which praised Israelis for defending themselves against terror attacks in a variety of clever ways, supported a “political agenda,” and it was also taken down.
Many of the cartoons that were displayed sought to show the inherent hypocrisy within the BDS movement and how it not only harms Israelis, but Palestinians as well. The primary goal was to prove that incitement by Palestinian leadership has led to the recent wave of violence. Certain cartoons showed how there are numerous countries throughout the Middle East that are suffering from corrupt regimes, which commit horrific crimes, yet Israel is the only nation condemned.
Some of these cartoons display how people are following anti-Israel bias blindly and without realizing the many contributions Israelis have brought to the world. Further, so much of what BDS seeks to accomplish will eventually harm Palestinians. One major example of this is SodaStream, where the company had no choice but to let 600 of its Palestinian employees go because they were forced to move locations.
There are endless tragedies taking place throughout the globe, yet BDS focuses solely on Israel and disguises itself as a human rights organization. In reality, it is a violent, hypocritical, and destructive movement. This is what TICP hopes to defeat through wit and illustration. This project works toward presenting Israel’s case creatively through imagery rather than words. It serves as a platform to combat anti-Israel bias with the help of talented artists and cartoonists in hopes of establishing a global campaign via social media. They have been wildly successful because as we all know, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”
Contributed by Bar-Ilan University CAMERA intern, Jasmine Esulin.