Cartoonist fired over Israel views

BY BUSTER SOUTHERLEY

AUCKLAND — The New Zealand Herald newspaper has sacked its award-winning cartoonist following a censorship row. Malcolm Evans was dismissed after drawing cartoons criticising the Israeli government's treatment of the Palestinian people, including one that depicts the word apartheid, a Star of David forming the letter A.

Geoff Levy of the Auckland Jewish Council claimed that "the apartheid cartoon was offensive to Judaism and members of the Jewish community".

In June, the Herald responded to criticism of the apartheid cartoon in an editorial: "Criticism of Israel is, in the minds of some, criticism of all of Judaism. Yes, there are some for whom that may be the case; people whose views are driven by prejudice. That is not to say, however, that all criticism of the Israeli government's policy in relation to Palestinians is based on such prejudice, far from it. There are legitimate criticisms to be made of those policies, just as Palestinians can be called to account for their unacceptable retribution on innocent Israeli citizens."

Nonetheless, Evans reported that Herald management tried to stop him from drawing any more cartoons about Israel and its policies towards the Palestinians. Evans refused to be censored and was sacked. He denied the charge of anti-Semitism: "The Holocaust was the most disgraceful crime in living history. But it doesn't make what the Israelis are doing in Palestine right", Evans told NZ TV3 on August 13.

Evans has been a professional cartoonist since the 1960s and has worked for the Herald for the past seven years. He recently won a Qantas media award as New Zealand's Cartoonist of the Year. His cartoons can be viewed at <http://www.evanscartoons.com>.

From Green Left Weekly, August 27, 2003.

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From GLW issue 551