Thursday, January 12, 2006

Leunig's cartoons in the Age:OPEN LETTER.

LEUNIG RESPONDS TO CRITICISM.

The cartoonists' lot: holding the mirror to a fractured world Michael Leunig January 13, 2006
URL: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/01/12/1136956298009.html

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MY RESPONSE: Leunig doesn't get it!

Dear Sir,
I am sorry you weren't there at that J. Museum function,- I was there and wished that you had been too. We could have personally debated the rights and wrongs of your political cartoons.
Unfortunately, by putting your personal interpretation into the daily paper, it gives me and the Jewish community the impression that you are in collusion with the enemies of the State,- be it Israel, American or our own here.
Sorry,- I still think that you can put your point of view in a less offensive way. Even if you see things differently, as many people do, it is not good enough to mimic the mortal enemies of a people,- be they the anti-Americans, anti-Australians or anti-Israelis or plain anti-Semites. They gleefully copy you to support their own biases and real hatreds.
Please see the analysis below of the Arab "Hate Industry".
You don't represent them surely, - you portray us,- yourself, the Aussies, the Jews, the Israelis and today the Americans,- but in their image.I rarely see you satirising any of the enemies of our peoples.Therein lies the problem.I don't think that you quite understand our emotional reactions to your cartoons,- we often liken them to what Goebels did in the '30s in Germany and would have approved and used today!
Some of us remember those days and where they led!There has to be some sort of "in context" analysis even in cartooning! Yours,
M. M.

The JewishTimes Australia has another response.
http://www.jewishtimes.com.au/content/view/233/190/
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From:
Dr. Reuven Erlich
Director
The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center
at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S) Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the
Center for Special Studies (C.S.S)

The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center Newsletter Attached please find information about :
The Hate Industry http://www.intelligence.org.il/eng/eng_n/as_e0106.htm
Monitoring anti-Semitic publications issued in the Arab countries: two anti-Semitic books published in Egypt in 2005 preach hatred of the Jewish people, the state of Israel and the Zionist movement (with no distinctions made between the three) and provide religious Islamic sanction for violence against them

Download PDF file
The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center is the educational and documentary center of the national memorial site of the Israeli intelligence community. It is located at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S.), at Gelilot near Tel Aviv, and specializes in information about intelligence and terrorism. It regularly releases exclusive information on its Internet site, both in Hebrew and English (http://www.intelligence.org.il/eng/default.htm), a large percentage of which is based on original Palestinian documents captured by Israeli forces.
As an additional service, the Center now sends out information electronically;
We would appreciate your comments and suggestions about both this newsletter and our Website. Yours sincerely, Dr. Reuven Erlich (Colonel, Ret.) Director The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center
Telephone: +972-3-7603579
Fax: +972-3-7603790
Email: info@intelligence.org.il

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HonestReporting.com (13/1/06)

A MEDIA U-TURN OR GROSS HYPOCRISY?
While the late conversion of some media outlets to a more balanced and fairer treatment of Sharon is welcome, HonestReporting notes how the media's attitude throughout Sharon's career has been infected with opinion and prejudice that has significantly contributed to the campaign of demonization against Israel. As illustrated by some of the examples in this communique, this trend still exists in many quarters.
The sudden u-turn of many of Sharon's detractors demonstrates the fickleness of a media that has promoted its own opinion of the truth with utter disregard for the consequences. This power to shape perceptions and mould public opinion reinforces the need to hold the media accountable for its work.
The thoughts of HonestReporting are with Ariel Sharon and his family and we urge readers to remain vigilant and to respond to further media distortions of his history. (See the Jewish Virtual Library for a detailed biography.)
Thank you for your ongoing involvement in the battle against media bias.
HonestReporting

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