COMIC STRIP DRAWS IRE OF JEWISH COALITIONS
by Michelle Bearden and Penny Carnathan, ©2001 Tampa Tribune April 15, 2001

TAMPA - A syndicated comic strip appearing in today's Tampa Tribune already  has evoked an emotional response from Jewish organizations. The strip shows the seven candles of a traditional menorah burning out one by  one, transforming the menorah into a cross. The final panel depicts an open  tomb containing bread and wine, with the cross in the background. The message, some say, is the obliteration of Judaism --symbolized by the  menorah -- and its replacement with Christianity. "B.C. is pushing Replace Theology," says Rabbi Meir Kahane of the Jewish Defense League of Florida, which called on newspapers not to run the strip. Kahane and others saw the comic in advance after someone posted it on the Interne

"We find nothing funny about Johnny Hart's text and artwork. In fact, we find it highly crude, insulting, and an example of outright Jew hatred," he said. Hart says that is not at all what he intended. "This comic is a celebration of Easter," he wrote in a prepared response. "This comic is in no way anti-Semitic." The strip's timing is particularly sensitive; as Hart and other Christians celebrate Easter today, Jews are celebrating the last day of Passover.

"With the slightest measure of sensitivity, he [Hart] could have come up with a more meaningful cartoon at this sacred season for different faiths," said Rabbi Joel S. Wasser, head of the Tampa Rabbinical Association. Creators Syndicate, which distributes the strip to about 1,300 newspapers, said it will be several days before it knows how many papers chose not to run it. At least 50 indicated they would run it along with a news story, a spokeswoman said.

Because many papers print Sunday's comics days ahead of distribution, some learned of the problem too late to make a change without significant expense. At least one Florida paper, the News-Journal of Daytona Beach, decided not to run the strip. The Tampa Tribune, which received two dozen or so calls about it Thursday and Friday, chose to let it run.

"We would never intentionally offend any reader or group," Managing Editor Donna Reed said. "As we respect the views of people who find the comic strip offensive, we equally respect the voice of the cartoonist." "The purpose of this very story is to shed light on the objections raised by members of the Jewish faith."

Hart says he intended for the strip to celebrate both Easter and Passover. "Easter took place at the time of the Jewish Passover and the symbols of Passover -- such as the menorah and the bread and wine -- are Christian symbols as well as Jewish symbols."

That's flat wrong, says Mike Eisenstadt of the Tampa Jewish Federation. "The menorah is not a symbol of Passover and didn't become a Jewish symbol for many, many years after the exodus from Egypt," he says. As for bread as a Passover symbol, "that would be laughable if it weren't so decidedly wrong."

The strip didn't bother Binyamin Jolkovsky, editor of Jewish World Review Web magazine (jewishworldreview.com). "It is nothing short of outrageous that a believing Christian cannot express his beliefs in a work of art without being crucified as a hater," he said. The strip's affront likely was unintentional, said James F. Strange,professor of religious studies at the University of South Florida. Supersessionism -- the belief that Christianity will supplant Judaism -- is part of the culture of Christianity, he said. It's so ingrained, most Christians aren't aware of it. "They say the supersessionist words, think the supersessionist thoughts, do the supersessionist things without even thinking about it," said Strange. "It sounds like he [Hart] just sort of thoughtlessly let his supersessionist thoughts show."

Letters that appeared in the Tampa Tribune in response to the comic strip's publication on Easter Sunday.

It is difficult to even begin to put into words the anger I felt reading Johnny Hart's ``B.C.'' comic strip in the April 15 Tampa Tribune. The accompanying article was nothing more than a justification for the paper's decision to print it.

The United States has a diverse ethnic and religious population, and although this may not be as easy to see in the Tampa Bay area, it is incumbent upon the news media - newspapers in particular - to educate people regarding this diversity. The process starts with sensitivity to the beliefs and tenets of all religions and peoples. The comic strip in question is without doubt anti-Semitic.

If the Tribune truly wishes it hadn't run this particular strip, then nothing less than a front-page apology is acceptable. If that is not forthcoming, the only conclusion that can be drawn is that The Tampa Tribune not only condones anti-Semitism but is a willing contributor to its propagation.

JANET L. GROSSO
Tampa

So what is Johnny Hart's message in Sunday's ``B.C.'' comic strip? That Christianity can survive only if Judaism is destroyed? Surely Christianity can survive without denigrating another faith! Johnny Hart has the right to express himself, but The Tampa Tribune can choose not to publish such a divisive, insulting cartoon. I hope the Tribune will monitor this cartoonist more carefully in the future. I was totally offended!

LORNA MICHAELSON
Tampa

Johnny Hart's cartoon regarding Passover and Easter was needlessly insensitive and offensive to many Jews. This strip was inappropriate for the general media. It was more suited for publication in Christian religious papers.

More troubling to those of us dealing with the hate lingering in our communities is the tolerance for it. Not too long ago a primitive hatemonger on Pinellas public access television issued a warning to Christian parents: ``Christian parents, Easter is the time when Jews drink the blood of Christian children.'' Currently in Tampa on PATV, the neo-Nazi National Alliance has William L. Pierce, whose work inspired Tim McVeigh, preaching the ``Jew conspiracy.''

The work of hatemongers, coupled with anti-Semitic acts of vandalism against Jewish temples and synagogues, makes us look askance at comic strips such as Hart's. Regardless of the intention, the cartoon is not helpful in creating better understanding and tolerance.

NORMAN N. GROSS
Palm Harbor
The writer is chairperson of Greater Florida B'nai B'rith Anti-Hate Committee.

ADL Says B.C. Comic Strip is a Throwback to the Teaching of Contempt Against Jews

New York, NY, April 12, 2001 … Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today issued the following statement on the upcoming Easter Sunday edition of the syndicated comic strip B.C., by Johnny Hart, which depicts the number seven through a candelabrum that is superseded by a cross:

The Easter Sunday comic strip, which conveys the message that Christianity has replaced Judaism, is insensitive and offensive. While not anti-Semitic, the comic strip’s message is reminiscent of the theology of contempt, which for centuries played a central role in fomenting Christian violence and hatred against Jews. It is even more troubling because the comic strip appears during Passover, a season that Christianity had historically used as an excuse to defame the Jewish religion with charges of blood libel, Jews as "Christ-killers," and pogroms. Sadly, we thought that the Christian-Jewish dialogue had moved us beyond such crude expressions of contempt.

The menorah has no place or role in the Christian religion, yet the cartoonist uses this core symbol of Judaism and makes it disappear into a cross with the words, "It is finished." It is as if Johnny Hart is telling his audience that Christianity now supersedes Judaism as the "true" faith. Whatever the cartoonist’s intention, the simple fact that this comic strip may be interpreted in this manner makes it insensitive, inappropriate and unnecessary. The cartoonist could have easily chosen a different theme to illustrate his religious beliefs.

Funnies Pages No Place for Offensive Religious Cartoon

April 12, 2001... NEW YORK -- The American Jewish Committee today called a popular comic strip's planned denigration of Judaism highly offensive and urged newspapers across the country to either replace it or print a disclaimer on Sunday.

The "B.C." comic strip, slated to appear on April 15, depicts the seven candles of a menorah, a sacred symbol of Jews and Judaism, burning out, one by one, as the last seven words of Jesus are recited. In the last panel of the comic strip, the entire menorah, representing the Jewish religion, is replaced by a Christian cross.

“Supercessionism, the belief that Christianity can and will replace Judaism, has been strongly repudiated by many leading Catholic and Protestant theologians,” said the American Jewish Committee.

“Whatever the cartoon's personal beliefs, the sudden insertion of religiously offensive cartoons into the comics section of Sunday newspapers is highly inappropriate and abuses readers, especially young children, who turn to B.C. every weekend said AJC. “Appearing in newspapers on the last day of Passover and Easter Sunday makes this form of religious exploitation all the more shameful

Note: The comic strip in question is not carried by the St. Petersburg Times