LONDON: Steve Bell, a veteran cartoonist with a longstanding association with The Guardian, has revealed his departure from the newspaper following the publication of a cartoon featuring Benjamin Netanyahu.
The cartoon faced criticism for alleged antisemitic undertones, an accusation Bell refuted.
He said that the drawing was inspired by a 1960s illustration by David Levine, who portrayed US President Lyndon B. Johnson with a scar in the shape of Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
Bell, a prominent figure at The Guardian for many decades, depicted the Israeli prime minister performing surgery on a figure resembling the Gaza Strip, accompanied by the caption, “Residents of Gaza, get out now.”
The imagery referred to a recent ultimatum issued by Netanyahu, urging residents to evacuate the northern region of the Gaza Strip within 24 hours before anticipated Israeli airstrikes.
Bell revealed that The Guardian chose not to publish the cartoon, citing concerns about antisemitism.
Initially submitted last week with the words “After David Levine” above the artist credit, Bell argued that portraying this subject for The Guardian now would inevitably lead to false accusations of employing “antisemitic tropes.”
Critics highlighted similarities in imagery to Shylock, the Jewish moneylender from Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice,” who seeks a “pound of flesh” from someone he is owed.
On Sunday, The Guardian confirmed its decision to part ways with Bell, specifying that the cartoonist would remain with the paper until his contract ends in April 2024.
The Guardian stated: “The decision has been made to not renew Steve Bell’s contract.
Steve Bell’s cartoons have been a significant part of The Guardian for more than 40 years — we express our appreciation and wish him all the best.”
Bell has been subject to scrutiny for his drawings in the past.
In 2020, he drew Priti Patel, along with Boris Johnson, as a grotesque, overweight bull, sparking outrage and allegations of referencing her Hindu heritage.
In the same year, he faced accusations of antisemitism for a drawing depicting Keir Starmer, the current leader of the Labour Party, presenting Jeremy Corbyn’s decapitated head on a platter — an image critics interpreted as a reference to the presentation of John the Baptist’s head to the daughter of King Herod, a Jewish monarch from the Bible.
Since the beginning of the conflict between Hamas and Israel on Oct. 7, media organizations, publishers, governments and social media platforms from around the world have been accused of bias in handling the situation.
On Sunday, the Frankfurt Book Fair was accused of “shutting down” Palestinian voices, after an awards ceremony due to honor Palestine-born novelist and essayist Adania Shibli was called off due to the war in Israel.
On Thursday, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced a systematic ban on pro-Palestinian demonstrations in France amid concerns they could lead to “public order disturbances.”
On Sunday, Arab News revealed that Meta’s Instagram has been shadow-banning users and suspending or banning accounts due to their pro-Palestinian content.
