'An insult to Ukraine and its people'

UK newspaper cartoon equating Jenin to Ukraine bitterly criticized by Jewish leaders

Caricature in Independent seeks ‘to deny Israel’s right to defend itself by casting a false equivalence between Ukrainians and armed Palestinian terrorists,’ says Jewish group

By ToI Staff 7 July 2023, 2:28 pm Edit
A cartoon by Dave Brown, published in the UK's Independent newspaper, July 5, 2023
A cartoon by Dave Brown, published in the UK's Independent newspaper, July 5, 2023

The British Jewish community reacted with anger to a caricature published by the UK newspaper The Independent which equates Israel’s recent military operation in Jenin with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The illustration by cartoonist Dave Brown, published in the paper Wednesday, shows a Palestinian man collapsed on the ground after having seemingly written “Ukraine” with his bloodied finger over a sign reading “Jenin” as Israeli fighter jets fly over the ruins around him.

A speech bubble shows the man asking: “Can you see me now?”

The Jewish Leadership Council, a British Jewish advocacy group, told the Jewish Chronicle newspaper that the cartoon “is a clear attempt to deny Israel’s right to defend itself by casting a false equivalence between Ukrainians and armed Palestinian terrorists.”

Gary Mond, chairman of the National Jewish Association, said the cartoon “appears to draw an equivalence between Palestinian terrorists and Ukrainians is an insult to Ukraine and its people.”

Israel launched a major operation early Monday in Jenin to crack down on what it says is a hotbed of terror in the city. IDF forces started leaving the area around midnight Tuesday, with the pullout completed in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Jenin Mayor Nidal Al-Obeidi said around 4,000 Palestinians, nearly one-third of the camp, had fled to stay with relatives or in shelters.

Twelve Palestinians were killed during the fighting, as well as one Israeli soldier, Sgt. First Class David Yehuda Yitzhak from the elite Egoz commando unit. According to the IDF, all of the slain Palestinians were involved in the fighting, but there were some noncombatants among the wounded.

Yitzhak was shot and killed while securing the beginning of the military’s withdrawal from the refugee camp Tuesday night. The military was investigating whether his death was the result of so-called “friendly fire.”

Numerous deadly terrorist attacks on Israelis in recent years have been carried out by Palestinians from the area surrounding Jenin, and observers say the Palestinian Authority has little control on the ground.

Palestinians walk by a damaged house in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, July 5, 2023, after the Israeli army withdrew its forces from the terrorist stronghold. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

The operation was focused on a local wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group known as the Jenin Battalion, as well as other smaller armed groups in the city and refugee camp.

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