Reformist Iranian newspaper under fire for Gaza cartoon
An Iranian newspaper is under fire for a cartoon depicting Palestinian civilians as being "neutral" victims in a war between two sides, which some have interpreted the depicted conflict as being between Israel and Iran.
Iranian Reformist newspaper Arman Daily has been criticized for running a cartoon depicting the two sides in the current war in Gaza as playing with innocent people’s lives, an accusation the publication reportedly denied. In its July 26 edition, Arman’s cartoon on the back page brought attention to the civilian lives lost in Gaza since the war began in the first week of July. The war has killed over 1,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and over 40 Israelis, mostly soldiers.
The cartoon depicts two sides, one wearing blue and white, the other red, playing ping pong. But instead of a ping pong ball, they are lobbing a bomb with a lit fuse back and forth. Instead of a dividing net, there is a women and two children lying in terror in the middle of the table. The woman is wearing a keffiyeh as a head scarf to represent that they are a Palestinian family.
