Israeli magazine lays off cartoonist over PM image
Israel's union of journalists says a Jerusalem-based magazine has laid off a cartoonist for an image rendering Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Likud lawmakers as pig characters from George Orwell's "Animal Farm."
The Union of Journalists in Israel said on Wednesday that Avi Katz, a freelance cartoonist for the Jerusalem Report, was dismissed after the cartoon ran in the magazine's edition this week.
The cartoon was meant to criticize the Israeli government's passage of a controversial law enshrining the state's Jewish character.
It's captioned with Orwell's line: "All animals are equal but some are more equal than others."
Critics say the legislation, which defines Israel as a Jewish state and downgrades the Arabic language's status, marginalizes the country's Arab minority.
The Jerusalem Report didn't respond to requests for comment.
