Cartoons for February

Lately I've been trying to do lengthier cartoons that have more substance. I was influenced by the cartoons of Jules Feiffer and also some graphic novels like Persepolis, Maus and Ethel and Ernest. Here is a cartoon I tried to do of the Arab Israeli conflict. One of the struggles that I always have is with dialogue. I don't know any Palestinians, but I have quite a few Jewish friends who are strongly pro-Israeli and I tried to remember some of the arguments that they've told me in defense of Israel to incorporate into this cartoon. While I was writing the dialogue in this cartoon, I also played two DVDs and took snippets of dialogue that I'd hear to try to create the point of view of the Palestinian and Israeli characters. The two movies are Encounter Point, a documentary by Julia Bacha and Ronit Avni about the Family Bereavement Forum that fights for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and Paradise Now, a good feature movie about the motivations of two Palestinians who become suicide bombers.

Personally I've flip-flopped quite a bit on this issue. I've never lived in the area, so all I have to go on to try to make an opinion are the arguments of friends and from what I've learned from books and documentaries that I've watched. I can see the arguments of the Israeli side and I can see the arguments of the Palestinian side, and it seems to me that both sides have legitimate claims.

A few months ago in my church, a seminary student came back from Israel and talked about his experiences in the region. He seemed very pessimistic about the chances for peace. I asked him about the Oslo Peace Process in the 1990s and Yitzhak Rabin's assasination, and he said that Rabin's death was a real blow to any chances of peace. There is a group called the American Friends of the Yitzhak Rabin Center (http://www.friendsofrabin.com/about-the-center.cfm) that tries to preserve the legacy of Yitzhak Rabin through a center that teaches democratic values, builds bridges between communities, equalizes educational opportunity and creates a cadre of young Israeli leaders.

I did a cartoon that was published in the February 4, 2009 edition of the Tri-City Voice about Obama, Hillary and the challenge of the Arab/Israeli conflict (http://www.tricityvoice.com/displayPages.php?issue=2009-02-04&page=26). I got this idea when I read an article about Obama and speculation on how he'll deal with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I hope he does well, but I don't think it'll be easy.

Encounter Point (http://www.amazon.com/Encounter-Point-Ronit-Julia-Bacha/dp/B000R4SKEW/re...) is a wonderful documentary by Julia Bacha and Ronit Avni about the Family Bereavement Forum, a group that takes Palestinian and Israeli families who lost members to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict and shows how individual members try to get a dialogue for peace between the two sides. Ali Abu Awwad is a Palestinian who had taken part in resistence in the 1990s and lost a brother to an Israeli soldier, who takes part in the forum to try to get Palestinians to resist the Israeli occupation nonviolently and to reach out to sympathetic Israelis. Robi Damelin's son David was killed by a Palestinian sniper while he was guarding a checkpoint near a settlement. Robi speaks out to Israelis about the injustices that Palestinians faced. These two, and several others, try to get Israelis and Palestinians to meet face to face and to learn to share their grieving and to see each others humanity.

The Bereaved Families Forum (http://www.theparentscircle.org/) was founded by Israeli businessman Yitzhak Frankenthal, whose son was killed by Palestinians while serving in the Israeli army. They facilitate dialogue and work for peace, especially during the times of intense conflict between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. Their mission (http://www.mideastweb.org/bereaved_families_forum.htm) is to bring members of families who have loved ones killed in the conflict to try to end the conflict.

While I was watching Encounter Point I heard mention a man named Badshah Khan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khan_Abdul_Ghaffar_Khan). I looked up wikipedia and found out that Badshah Khan was Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a Pashtun political and spiritual leader known for his non-violent opposition to British Rule in India. He was a close friend and follower of Mahatma Gandhi, and he was a devout Muslim and lifelong pacifist. In 1985 Badshah Khan was nominated for the Nobel peace prize. In 1987 he became the first non-citizen to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award.

In the movie one of the Palestinian participants of the Family Bereavement Forum named Sami Al Jundi was studying Badshah Khan, Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, and other nonviolent movements around the world to see what tactics could be applied to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict and what tactics do not apply. Badshah Khan was known as the nonviolent soldier of Islam and perhaps he could be an alternative role model for Palestinians who see only Hamas and the violent militants.