The Guardian has fired longtime cartoonist Steve Bell over a recent political cartoon that depicted an “antisemitic trope,” according to Bell and the BBC.
The cartoon depicts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about to cut into his own abdomen with a scalpel. He is also shown wearing boxing gloves, and the traced outline for the operation appears to be shaped like the Gaza Strip, the region from which the terrorist group Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7. A speech bubble coming from Netanyahu reads “Residents of Gaza, get out now.” (RELATED: ‘For Your Own Safety:’ Israel Warns Gaza Residents To Evacuate Ahead Of Sweeping Ground Invasion)
Just to explain. I filed this cartoon around 11am, possibly my earliest ever. Four hours later, on a train to Liverpool I received an ominous phone call from the desk with the strangely cryptic message “pound of flesh”… pic.twitter.com/kSfmfzlmhy
— Steve Bell (@BellBelltoons) October 9, 2023
Bell said the cartoon was inspired by a famous Vietnam War-era political cartoon of former President Lyndon B. Johnson.
“I filed this cartoon around 11am, possibly my earliest ever. Four hours later, on a train to Liverpool I received an ominous phone call from the desk with the strangely cryptic message ‘pound of flesh,'” the cartoonist said on Twitter. Bell said his response was “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” The reply he allegedly received was “Jewish bloke; pound of flesh; antisemitic trope.”
“Pound of flesh” may have been a reference to William Shakespeare’s character, Moneylender Shylock, in “The Merchant of Venice,” the BBC reported, in which Shylock is considered to depict a Jewish stereotype and demands a pound of another character’s flesh if a loan is not repaid.
The Guardian’s interpretation “made no sense to me, as there is no reference to that play in my cartoon, which shows Netanyahu, poised to perform a surgical operation on himself while wearing boxing gloves, the catastrophic consequences of which are yet to be seen,” Bell told the BBC. “The image itself was inspired by the late, great David Levine’s cartoon of President Lyndon Johnson (LBJ) showing off his operation scar, which Levine draws in the shape of a map of Vietnam.”
“The decision has been made not to renew Steve Bell’s contract. Steve Bell’s cartoons have been an important part of the Guardian over the past 40 years – we thank him and wish him all the best,” a Guardian News and Media spokesperson told the outlet.