Question: How can Israelis in particular complain about anti-semitism in Europe if garbage like this is allowed to be published in a 'respectable' newspaper?

Can you imagine the outcry if a European newspaper had inflammatory images (or comments) of Jews and/or Israelis?

Garbage and shameful.

This cartoon was originally in Hebrew and meant for an Israeli audience. Israeli humour does not translate very well, unfortunately: the point of the cartoon is to make fun of Israeli prejudices and provincial attitudes.

Also, just as Black Americans think it's funny to call White Americans "honkies" or "crackers," so do a lot of Israelis think it's funny to call Germans Nazis. They don't mean it literally and they don't think about it (although I agree that they certainly should).

It's usually considered more acceptable, in western society at least, for the oppressed to make jokes about the (former or current) oppressers even if they are in questionable taste. In Israel it is considered "acceptable" for Mizrachi Jews to make jokes about Ashkenazi Jews, but the reverse is considered racist.

If a European newspaper were to publish an anti-Semitic cartoon it would (rightfully, I think) be considered racist - a continuation of the attitudes that motivated those who perpetrated the holocuast.

In other words, the cartoon may be a bit tasteless but your comparison doesn't work.

Lisa, the cartoon is not a bit tasteless. It is extremely tasteless.

Whether it was intenteded for an Israeli audience or not, it is racist. Pure and simple. It cannot be justified.

You do realize that the only way to cure a disease is to identify it.

It is not racist (againt Germans or Italians) for the simple reason that it does not depict Germans or Italians. It is a cartoon about Israeli attitudes about Germans or Italians. So it could only be racist if it was antisemitic, which it is not, since it is a joke by Israelis about Israelis.

Refugee,

We still have a large number --nearly half a million -- (the largest in the world) of aging Holocaust survivors living here in Israel. So we are talking half a million people out of our current population of 6 million. While the world may have "moved on" it is not the case for many here --not for those who survived and not for many of their children. I know many people who would sooner cut off their own foot than go to Germany (or Poland). In the third generation --mine, Lisa's --perceptions are quite different of Germany but for those in our parents and grandparents generation the wounds are still open and raw.

When I went to live in Germany for a year this upset my family to no end. It actually was most likely a contributing factor to my grandmother's death as she was horribly (massively) distraught about it and she suffered a fatal heartattack just 4 days after I arrived there.

I have to agree with Perpetual Refugee on this one.

Guys, you are not getting the message of this cartoon. It is a double commentary:

1. Mocking Israelis' racist attitudes
2. Pointing out that 60+ years after the holocaust, the historical burden is still so heavy that it influences even the most mundane events - like a banal conversation about a soccer game.

This cartoon is not meant to mock Germans. It is meant to mock Israelis. Get it?

The problem with the middle east is - ok, there is more than one problem - but a big problem is how it has seemed to kills our ability to appreciate ironic humour. Or any multi-lateral thought process. Oy, are we all doomed to become literal thinkers?

I don't think it's a translation problem. I think maybe ppl don't get how surviving in Israel means laughing at your own foibles. If we can't laugh at ourselves, life is truly intorlerable.

First second: Oh.
Second second: haha!
Third second: Hmmm....

The more I think about it, the less I am sure if I have got it. It is not funny that it can be reality for elder people. It is not the very best joke about Germans. What then? Does it mock about younger Israelis who may think about Germans like the British boulevard press - for them, we are still in war? Or just the absurd situation - TV, beer, peanuts, nazis?

(I just wanted to post the comment, the telephone rang, a German friend was there, I told him about the cartoon and he laughed.)

even as a mocked person (german) think it is funny and it doesn't offend me because for me the joke is on the comic character and not on the germans or italians.

It's funny! You guys just don't get it. And btw... Lisa has explained the intricacies of WHY its funny perfectly in her comments here - and its often not easy to explain exactly why its funny...or as Homer (J. Simpson) said - "It's funny because it's true!"

I am a feminist who had to define myself with and against the humourless stereotype of feminists. (remember? How many feminists does it take to screw in a lightbulb? answer: That's not funny!).
Love your fellow people, but keep a healthy eye out for the riches of the absurd.

The Germans may sey we're pizza bakers, the Israelis may say we'r fascists... who cares? We won :-))))

Ok, so much for my italian (sport) pride.
I don't find it offensive at all. Though, concerning Israelis prejudices, I must add I lived in Jerusalem almost 2 yrs and never heard a single nast comment italians-fascism.

My friend Sergio always jokes about his peeps: "Italians - was are so good at food and soccer. Not so good at picking allies."

we also happen to be very good at jokes, then :-)
Regarding soccer, let's cross finger for tomorrow.

Speaking of which, I'm positive no Israeli will crack a joke about Italians being nazi simpathizers, when the other side is France. Just a guess.

The cartoon Israeli might ask: Do you support the fascists or the collaborateurs?

Lisa, I agree with you, it is ultimately mocking Israelis, not Germans or Italians. And I do think it's funny bcs Israelis truly are provincial, and carry the past closer than many other people. In Europe, the context is different but the humour, the mocking, is present as well - the targets are simply different and may not even be recognised by the outsiders. That's what humour is, a weapon to strengthen our identity as opposed to The Others. Humour is very rarely kind. And mind you, Europe

And anyway, Refugee, are you serious? Europe publishes inflammatory images and news of Jews and/or Israelis all the time! Just bcs it's veiculated as a genuine journalistic article instead of a cartoon doesn't mean it's not there. And in most cases, it's not even a joke.

Europe publishes inflammatory images and news of Jews and/or Israelis all the time? Really? Surely that would be a crime here in France and in Germany and possibly in other european countries....

A comic. And funny. at least to me. (German). Haven't even wasted a second thought on it. Then curiousity took over and I read the comments...
Lori

I have been talking about this with a comedian friend of mine, and he said that good satire is undetectable to 25% of the population.

Which, I guess is true. Some people just don't have the ability to detect satire. Which does not mean they are dumb, but it is a *type* of intelligence, like mathematical, or musical.

Today I was to this pro-life blogger who thinks that an article in the onion, entitled "I am totally psyched to have this abortion" is real.

Kind of funny on its own. but the commenters sure do lay into him.

It may be mocking Israelis. In that case perhaps it shouldn't be published on the net to an international audience without an explanation. Surely Lisa was expecting-maybe hoping for-a negative response from europeans...

I had to smirk when I saw it. And I'm German, it didn't offend me btw. About the being-called-a-Nazi-thing... as long as it's not bullying, personal or non-ironical/uneducated it doesn't bother me that much. Surely there are Germans that are more annoyed by this, but that's really their problem - if this gives them a headache, they should change their nationality or learn some history, IMHO.

It's obvious (at least to some people with the gift of being able to comprehend irony and satire) that it's dealing about the living-in-the-past-thinking of some Israeli. In the context of the cartoon's meaning I can imagine that it was always easy for those addressed to pick sides as long as either Germany or Italy played a match against another team, but when they finally had a match against each other, they did not know what side to pick and instead of enjoying the game started discussing politics and WWII. ;)

Also the cartoon's kind of funny in itself, leaving aside the "mocking Israeli" aspect. Nazis and Mussolini-Fascists being almost the same, fighting each other... it's like asking "Who are we supporting - the Devils' Brigade or the Army from Hell?" - Choosing the lesser evil of two absolute evils. That's a comic situation if it's seriously considered over a simple ball game. So it's mocking people who take life too serious in general I guess, at least that's why I think it's more funny than tasteless.

Apart from what was really meant in the cartoon, do you know that racism and fascism is a big issue among soccer fans and even players...? The cartoon unintentionally hits a soft spot. Often the victims of racism in soccer are african and arabian players. But apart from the blunt racism also neo-fascistic ties between some Ultras* (=die-hard fans) and political parties are a problem for some clubs, and that's not limited to (Eastern) Germany and Italy... but instead it's a Europe-wide issue.

*=Ultras being political isn't uncommon, but they're not necesserily fascists or racists. There are also communist and anti-racist/fascist Ultra organisations.