Brazilian cartoon slams IDF soldiers helping with dam collapse
Following arrival of an Israeli delegation in Brazil to assist search and rescue efforts in the wake of the dam collapse in the country, Carlos Latuff publishes a cartoon showing IDF soldiers with blood on their hands; Israeli comic book artist Uri Fink retaliates with his own cartoon.
The Israeli delegation, which brought with it special equipment to allow them to operate in the muddy conditions, comprised of over 100 Israeli soldiers from the Home Front Command, includes engineers, doctors, and search and rescue personnel. Israel was the only country that sent a search and rescue team.
Latuff, known for his anti-Israeli views, is a political caricaturist whose work is published worldwide. One of his past works compared Israel with Nazi Germany.
Latuff's latest cartoon shows IDF soldiers getting off a plane with their hands covered in blood as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro greets them. The soldiers tell Bolsonaro: "Sorry for our delay! We're busy killing Palestinians."
In response, Israeli comic book artist Uri Fink blasted the Brazilian cartoonist on Facebook, saying that "Carlos Latuff is a disgrace to our profession."
"It is acceptable to criticize a nation’s policies, even harshly, but when it sends people to help save lives in your country, the least you could do is shut the f*** up! Obviously, he is so completely consumed by hatred that he forgot his responsibility as a cartoonist and continues his duties as a propaganda tool in the finest totalitarian tradition," Fink wrote.
Fink, a member of the Israeli Cartoon Project—an organization that is waging an online battle against anti-Israeli and Anti-Semitic cartoons—retaliated to Latuff's cartoon with a caricature of the Brazilian artist holding a BDS sign while preventing an IDF soldier from saving a little girl.
"His hatred for Israel has made Latuff lose his mind. The fact help is being prevented from people (in need) only because of the hatred toward Israel is an example of the lows one can reach when choosing to disproportionately attack Israel.
"The online smear campaign against Israel does nothing but poison the discourse and distance peace," Fink said.
