This past week La Presse put a Serge Chapleau cartoon on its website depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the 1922 film vampire Nosferatu, and then almost immediately took it down and apologized as accusations of antisemitism began appearing.
Just as quickly the Association of Canadian Cartoonists (ACC) responded by backing their brother.
… In our view, Mr. Chapleau’s rendering of Netanyahu as Nosferatu is not an attack on Israelis or Jewish people globally, but rather a very strong statement on a controversial world leader during a major conflict.
The task of the cartoonist is to always punch up and counter abuses of power, regardless of the nation or background of the subject. This cartoon does not punch down.
Even though this cartoon may be shocking and disagreeable to some, we do not regard it as antisemitic and for Mr. Chapleau, a cartoonist of great sophistication, to be accused of that is something we wholeheartedly disagree with.
We are greatly disappointed in La Presse for not standing behind their cartoonist.
Members of The Association of Canadian Cartoonists
Twenty-three members of the ACC attached their names to the letter,
including Guy Badeau who shows the entire letter at his Bado’s Blog.
Well done!!!!!
JC Laquerre
(PCartoonist for the/la Source, Vancouver)