Target: Palestine

Translation / Interpretation / Caption Text / Source

Here is the Antisemitism Observatory's interpretation of this poster and its intent:

The poster uses the Star of David, a symbol of the Jewish people, as a target on the forehead of a Palestinian girl

The author is calling the Jewish people murderers

Source:

https://observatorioantisemitismo.fcje.org/2192/

______

Questions for Critical Thinking

The Antisemitism Observatory's (AO) reading of this poster reduces its message to a single possibility: the poster, because it incorporates a Star of David symbol, is "calling the Jewish people murderers" and therefore in the AO's opinion, is antisemitic

Q: Is that the only possible reading of this poster? Might there be other, more careful readings of the poster that dispute or debunk the Antisemitism Observatory's assessment?

For example, might it be that the artist is referring, through the use of the Star of David symbol, not to the Jewish community as a whole but rather to the IDF snipers who regularly shoot unarmed Palestinian demonstrators?

Consider that the flag of Israel features the Star of David and that flags are universally accepted as stand-in devices for the purpose of identifying countries

Q: What symbol might the artist have used to represent Israel or the IDF if not the Star of David? 

Q: Might the girl be a symbol of the Palestinian people and their future and therefore a statement not about Jewish people or even Israelis but rather political Zionism which is dedicated to Jewish supremacy in historic Palestine?

Q: Does the Star of David, as a symbol, represent only Judaism or does it also represent Israel, a geo-political state? Or Zionism, a political ideology? View here how the Star of David is used by Israeli and Zionists in their posters

Do you see any similarities or contradictions? 

DJW