Israel: The Cartoonists’ Diagnosis - A Viewpoint From Within
Cartoon Art Museum, San Francisco, CA Exhibit Display Copy
This exhibit appropriately brings San Francisco and Israel together, two cultures historically known for addressing current and progressive political issues through the arts. Israel: The Cartoonists’ Diagnosis – a Viewpoint from Within is a museum project initiated and conceived by the Israel Center of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties in celebration of its 10th anniversary. The collection was originally created by The Israeli Cartoon Association in the new Israeli Cartoon Gallery in Holon, Israel. Now on display at the San Francisco Cartoon Art Museum it is co-presented by the Israel Center and the San Francisco Contemporary Jewish Museum.
Israel’s complex social and political affairs provide a natural breeding ground for satire. Every part of Israeli life has political overtones, making the medium of the published cartoon a perfect vehicle with which to respond to the continual contentious affairs of that country. A true demonstration of democracy, the Israeli political cartoon allows artists to deal with highly sensitive issues with a mixture of humor and seriousness. Appreciated for their provocative nature, these cartoons are often as effective a means of providing opinion as any political speech, newspaper article or newscast.
The cartoon medium is but a brief introduction intended to engage us in an alternative discourse about the world we are sharing, offering us a rare peek into the intricacies of Israeli society, the minds of its people and their passion for resolution. We are fortunate to have the shelter of culture as a platform for social and educational change.
Enjoy!
Written in January, 2006, for the Jewish Community Federation
Front Page Program and Exhibit Display Copy
Witness the unfolding of history as Israel’s top political cartoonists share their viewpoints on contemporary Israeli issues in a first-time U.S. exhibit of their work. Israel’s complex affairs – made all the more provocative with the recent turn of events as a result of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s illness, Hamas winning the elections and the uproar around the world over political cartoons – provide prolific fodder for cartoonists. The 19 cartoonists featured in the show are representative of the broad spectrum of Israeli society and its varied public opinions – politically, socially, geographically and religiously.
