Jerusalem Post fires cartoonist over caricature mocking Netanyahu

JERUSALEM

The Jerusalem Report, a news magazine published by Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post, fired on July 24 the illustrator Avi Katz after a cartoon depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the lawmakers from his ruling Likud party as pigs.

The cartoon was a parody of a real-life scene after last week’s approval by Israeli parliament of a bill defining it as the nation-state of the Jewish people.

Following the parliamentary vote, right-wing Knesset members had posed with Benjamin Netanyahu for a selfie to celebrate the new law, which declares that the right to exercise national self-determination in the State of Israel is unique to its Jews.

The Jerusalem Post told daily Haaretz that “Katz is a freelance cartoonist at The Jerusalem Post, and based on editorial considerations, it was decided not to continue the relationship with him.”

Katz, an American immigrant to Israel, has been contributing illustrations to the magazine since 1990.

Katz’s media colleagues are decrying his firing. One Jerusalem Report writer, essayist and short story fiction writer, Haim Watzman, resigned in protest.

A crowdfunding page launched July 25 in support of Katz had raised more than $10,000 as of that night.