ANOTHER CARTOONIST CROSSES THE LINE

UNCLAS CAIRO 002410

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KPAO EG
SUBJECT: ANOTHER CARTOONIST CROSSES THE LINE

REF: CAIRO 2201


1. Summary: A small, middle-of-the-road Cairo weekly
magazine ran a cartoon on March 19 of a swastika-
covered U.S. soldier. Embassy staff met with the
editor on March 23 to protest the cartoon. The
editor stated that the cartoon was a 2004 work by a
Palestinian freelancer. Although the editor made no
specific promise to refrain from using similar images
in the future, we believe our timely reaction to the
use of such unacceptable symbols sends a message that
their use does not go unnoticed and may serve as a
disincentive to their use in the future. End summary.


2. Following a series of hostile, anti-U.S. cartoons
in Cairo's leading Al Akhbar newspaper last week,
including some with Nazi imagery, the much smaller
and generally middle-of-the-road Al Ahram Al Arabi
weekly magazine (circulation 8,000) on March 19 ran
an editorial cartoon of a smiling, swastika-covered
U.S. soldier shoveling skulls and bodies labeled
"massacres of Faluja, Palestine, Lebanon" into an
upturned black top hat, labeled with the Star of
David.


3. On March 23, we met with Mohammed Habousha, the
managing editor of Al Ahram Al Arabi, to protest the
offensive cartoon. Using arguments similar to those
used last week by the PA Counselor with the lead
cartoonist for Al Akhbar (reftel),post pressed the
case that the use of Nazi symbolism associated with
the U.S. is both offensive and harmful to a
constructive dialogue.


4. Habousha was receptive and explained that the
artist who drew the cartoon in question was neither
regular staff, nor even Egyptian, but a young,
Palestinian freelancer, Ismail El Qassem, from whom
the magazine bought some drawings last year. (In fact,
the published cartoon carries the date "2004" below
the signature.) According to Habousha, his magazine
bought some cartoons from El Qassem last year, but did
not use them when purchased. Last week, when
assembling the March 19 issue, they went to the files
to find a cartoon critical of U.S. military presence
in the region, and they selected one of El Qassem's.


5. When asked by Embassy staff why such an offensive
image was chosen, Habousha claimed that he had not
given it much thought and that he had not really
focused on the fact that there were swastikas on the
soldier's uniform. In fact, he claimed, the drawing
was chosen simply to highlight the argument that the
U.S. is causing unjustified casualties in the region,
and not to accuse American soldiers specifically of
Nazi practices. As for the Star of David, he
suggested that the artist was only trying to link U.S.
violence in the region to Israeli violence in
Palestine. When faced with strong rejection of these
arguments, Habousha acknowledged that he understood
the Embassy's position clearly, but made no specific
promise to refrain from publishing similar cartoons in
the future.


6. Comment: As with Al Akhbar last week, post is
focusing its cartoon-related protests on Nazi imagery
associated with the U.S. We believe this approach
will lead editors to think twice before using such
imagery in future cartoons. Post continues to address
the more general, anti-American imagery that routinely
appears throughout the Egyptian media in the context
of our long-term dialogue with Egypt's editors and
journalists. End comment.

GRAY