On September 15, 2020, the UAE and Bahrain signed peace agreements with Israel at the White House. The announcements of the upcoming agreements, by the UAE on August 13 and by Bahrain on September 11, were welcomed by many Arab countries, but others condemned them harshly. Among the latter were first of all the Palestinians,[1] but also Qatar, which itself maintains relations with Israel in order to support Hamas in the Gaza Strip and strengthen its own position and influence in the region. The Qatari criticism of the agreements was expressed in a harsh media attack against the UAE and Bahrain – which have been boycotting Qatar since June 2017 – and against their Arab allies, the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
As part of this attack the Qatari press published numerous cartoons mocking the Arab countries which support normalization with Israel. These countries were portrayed as traitors who serve Israel and the U.S. while stabbing the Palestinians in the back. Some cartoons ridiculed U.S. President Donald Trump and implied that the peace agreements were part of his presidential election campaign. Others contained antisemitic motifs, for example a cartoon that portrayed Israel using a stereotypical image of a Jew, and another that referenced a popular antisemitic hadith about the war between the Muslims and the Jews on Judgement Day. According to this hadith, the Jews will seek refuge by hiding behind rocks and trees, but the latter will cry out, "O Muslim, O Abdallah, a Jew is hiding behind me, come and kill him."
Below are some of the Qatari cartoons criticizing the peace agreements.
Arabs Who Normalize Relations With Israel Are Tools Serving Israel, U.S.
The normalizing Arab is a puppet manipulated by Trump, who is himself a puppet of Israel (Al-Quds Al-Arabi, London, September 16, 2020)
"Trump's advisor Kushner" subjects the "Arab regimes" to the fate of black U.S. citizen George Floyd (Al-Quds Al-Arabi, London, September 5, 2020)
The UAE-Israel agreement is an Arab stamp of approval for Israel that will help Trump win "the American elections" (Al-Watan, Qatar, August 16, 2020)
The Arabs Rush Blindly, Eager To Normalize Relations With Israel
Arabs follow Netanyahu like blind ducklings to perish in the sea of "normalization" (Al-Quds Al-Arabi, London, August 23, 2020)
Arabs rush to normalize relations with Israel (Al-Arabi Al-Jadid, London, September 12, 2020)
Arabs crawl toward normalization with Israel (Al-Quds Al-Arabi, London, August 28, 2020)
Ahmed 'Ali, a former editor of the Qatari daily Al-Watan, retweeted a cartoon originally posted on the Arabic Twitter page of the Israeli Foreign Ministry,[2] showing the train of "peace," carrying Israel and all the countries that have signed peace agreements with it over the years. 'Ali added another frame showing the train and all its passengers plunging over a cliff into a pit of fire, and wrote: "The train of normalization will definitely reach its last stop one day."
Twitter.com/AhmedAli_Qatar, September 22, 2020
Normalization Agreements Are A Betrayal Of The Palestinians
The signing of the agreements is a stab in the Palestinians' back (Al-Raya, Qatar, September 14, 2020)
Arab "normalization" with Israel is a knife in the Palestinians' back (Al-Arabi Al-Jadid, London, August 14, 2020)
The Arabs first stab the Palestinians in the back and then pretend to mourn as they hold their funeral (Al-Raya, Qatar, September 14, 2020)
"The Arabs run a normalization marathon at the expense of Palestinian blood!!" (Al-Quds Al-Arabi, London, August 22, 2020)
Following the UAE-Israel "wedding," Arabs rush to catch the bouquet, consisting of Palestinian skulls, vying to be Israel's next bride (Al-Arabi Al-Jadid, London, August 15, 2020)
The day of the signing of the UAE-Israel agreement is a black stain (Al-Sharq, Qatar, September 16, 2020)
Criticism Of Arab League For Failing To Condemn The Normalization Agreements
PA President Mahmoud 'Abbas weeps over the grave of the Arab League (Al-Quds Al-Arabi, London, August 19, 2020)
The "Arab League," and the "Gulf Cooperation Council" snooze in a sea of blood representing the "normalization" (Al-Sharq, Qatar, August 18, 2020)
The Arab League stands naked after losing its fig leaf, "the Arab [peace] initiative" (Al-Arabi Al-Jadid, London, September 11, 2020)
Cartoons With Antisemitic Motifs
The cartoon below references the antisemitic hadith[3] according to which the Prophet Muhammad said: "On Judgement Day, the Muslims will fight the Jews and kill them. The Jews will hide behind stones and trees, and the stones and trees will call out, "O Muslim, o Servant of Allah, a Jew is hiding behind me. Come and kill him."
Arab leader discards his sword and rushes to shake hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is hiding behind a rock that is crying out "O Muslim, o servant of Allah, what are you doing?!!" (Al-Quds Al-Arabi, London, September 21, 2020)
"The normalization front:" A Jew, portrayed as the antisemitic stereotype, rubs his magic lantern to summon the Arab leaders who are friendly with Israel (Al-Quds Al-Arabi, London, September 17, 2020)
[1] For Palestinian criticism of the agreements see MEMRI Special Dispatch 8732, Arabs Attack Palestinian Leadership Following Its Harsh Denouncement Of UAE-Israel Normalization Agreement: The Palestinian Cause Is Defunct; The Palestinians Must Face Reality, Stop Their Ingratitude Towards The Gulf States, September 14, 2020.
[2] Twitter.com/IsraelArabic, September 21, 2020.
[3] The hadith appears in two of the six major compilations of hadiths in Sunni Islam: Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.
