Peter Evans has been contributing editorial cartoons to The Islander News of Key Biscayne for nearly 30 years. During that time his cartoons have drawn negative comments. A cartoon about the current Israeli/Hamas War is no exception.
The November 30 edition had a cartoon depicting the battle between Israel and Hamas. I object to the moral equivalence between the state of Israel and the ruling party in Gaza, Hamas.
I write to you saddened after seeing the cartoon published in the November 30 edition of the Islander News. First, to see how the portrayal of pictures documenting the gathering of the Key Biscayne community repudiating the barbaric events of October 7th in the Beachcombing section was a slap in the face.
Now, having a cartoon showing an equivalence between Hamas and Israel and depicting both as flintstones in prehistoric confrontation is devastating. Your cartoonist has been hurtful to many. Maybe it is time you care.
Cartoonist Evans responded to the letter writers standing by his cartoon without apology:
I have no wish to upset readers. But I stand by my November 30 cartoon depicting characters representing Hamas and Israel battering each other.
I don’t toss out cartoons unthinkingly. In fact, I vetted this with my significant other, with whom I live. She is a devout Jew and an intelligent, highly accomplished woman in her own right…
There will always be readers who take exception to certain cartoons. If there weren’t, I wouldn’t be doing my job. Your readers do not want pablum in their newspaper. They want topics that give them pause. And make them think…
This new cartoon doesn’t lie or take sides. It points out human folly, which all my cartoons try to do…
OK, The cartoon’s just sort of there “cycle of violence” blah, blah, blah. But what was up with the rally or whatever in the “beachcomber” section. That’s far more interesting to me.
Editorial cartoons are not intended to be “funny page” material. They are intended to (hopefully) get people to think about their assumptions and maybe, just maybe, those folks will delve more deeply into the root of their inclinations, likes, dislikes, etc. The clarity that well executed editorial cartoons provide is priceless … and so needed in today’s political atmosphere.
Good comment about the equivalency of the two sides; Israel should have been portrayed as a modern warrior with the latest technology. Or at least a caveman with 10 clubs. The two sides are not equivalent, as the casualty numbers show.