By Randa Darwish
An Israeli cartoonist, Avi Katz was fired by the Jerusalem Post after portraying the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and Likud lawmakers as pigs, in a reference to George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” novel. The cartoon was mocking a selfie taken by right-wingers with the Prime Minister in celebration of the Knesset passing the controversial Israeli nationality law on July 19.
The cartoon depicts the lawmakers as pigs, with a well-known quote from Orwell’s book saying: "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others."
The cartoon came in opposition to the latest Israeli nationality law, which was widely described as a racist and apartheid law, as it specifies the nature of the State of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, and puts Hebrew above Arabic as the official language in the country. It was faced with wide condemnation worldwide.
Katz, who worked for the Jerusalem Report, the news magazine published by the Jerusalem Post, was confirmed to have been fired by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Thursday.
While it did not give any comment on the news, the Jerusalem Post told Haaretz that Katz is a freelance cartoonist, and the newspaper had decided not to continue their relationship with him.
"Katz is a freelance cartoonist at the Jerusalem Post, and based on editorial considerations, it was decided not to continue the relationship with him," the Jerusalem Post told Haaretz.
Several reactions arose after Haaretz released the news. The Jerusalem-based author, Haim Watzman, announced his resignation from the Jerusalem Post in support of his colleague.
A crowdfunding initiative was also set up to support the cartoonist and help him to keep drawing and publishing his work.
On top of that, the Israel Journalists' Union condemned the firing and demanded that the Jerusalem Post retract their decision saying: “Causing harm to a journalist because he expressed an opinion, let alone when it was approved by his editors, is a dangerous step that must not be accepted. We call on Katz's editors to retract this unacceptable step."
Meanwhile, Tel Aviv's upcoming Animix Festival that celebrates animation, comic books, and cartoons, announced they will feature an exhibit on freedom of speech.
On social media, the decision launched wide debate. However, Katz seems to have found a large base of supporters who agreed with the portrayal of the Netanyahu government’s lawmakers as pigs.
Many comments condemned firing a person from his job because he expressed his opinion.
Others were quick to accuse Katz of being anti-Semitic, and compared his cartoon to other anti-Semitic drawings.
