tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2132494293584688324.post8718288394403706831..comments2013-03-11T11:42:26.189+02:00Comments on Solar Plexus: David Zinn in his own wordsSolar Plexushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01361482340960599573noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2132494293584688324.post-72900401584757166802009-07-16T12:07:05.802+02:002009-07-16T12:07:05.802+02:00I had a similar response when I discovered this le...I had a similar response when I discovered this letter published in the Cape Times on the 18th March 2008:<br /><br />Blind loyalty to Israel<br /><br />The highly personalised nature of the attacks on Zapiro by Mike Berger and David Jacobson (March 14) reflects their profound political and ideological partisanship. Such blind loyalty to Israel does not, in fact, help the cause of Israelis or Jews. Instead, it reproduces intolerance and blind spots. <br /><br />The cartoon that has offended them did not in any way attempt to equate Israeli military strategies of collective punishment in Gaza with the Nazi genocide. <br /><br />Instead, it made the more general point that, given Jews' historical experiences of oppression over many centuries, we ought to be acutely sensitive to matters of social injustice. In fact, many Jewish artists, writers, activists and intellectuals have come to similar conclusions. <br /><br />The role of left and progressive Jews in the anti-apartheid struggle is a case in point. Cartoonists such as Zapiro raise uncomfortable questions and prod self-criticism, especially when it comes to the actions of their "own people". Thus it is not surprising that Zapiro challenges fellow South African Jews for their unquestioning support for Israeli policies. <br /><br />This tradition of uncompromising critique is Zapiro's strength. Former President Nelson Mandela once told him that even though members of his family were known to be ANC supporters, he recognised that it was Zapiro's job not to spare the ANC government from his sharp pen. <br /><br />While Mandela could acknowledge the role of the political cartoonist, even when his cartoons lampooned and parodied Mandela's government and party, Berger and Jacobson are calling for Zapiro to close ranks and show unflinching loyalty towards his "own people". <br /><br />Steven Robins<br /><br />Such a resounding rebuke from a fellow Jew should have shamed you into silence on the Israel/Palestine issue forevermore, but blinkered idiocy is clearly a very tough habit to break. Who do you think you are even shining Zapiro’s shoes, let alone challenging any of his cartoons? He is one of the greatest South Africans alive and worth more than all the members of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies and the South African Zionist Federation put together, not to mention all Israeli supporters of Kadima, Likud and Yisrael Beitenu combined. Zapiro is one of the greatest assets this country has, whereas the likes of you sadly fuel the fire of a certain brand of anti-Semitism with your blind loyalty to that murderous terror state known as Israel. This was another important truth Yoav Shamir’s film attempted to communicate. As usual, your blinkered and belligerent brain refused to process such disconcertingly honest information.<br /><br />Regards<br />David Zinn (aka Zinny)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12233811156151908746noreply@blogger.com