CARTOONIST CLAIMS HORRIBLE, MALICIOUS HOAX

Michael Leunig is desperate to distract attention away from the real issue posed by the cartoon above, that is, that the cartoon is seen, at least by some, as sufficiently anti-Holocaust to warrant inclusion in Iran's biggest-selling newspaper Hamshahri's Holocaust cartoon competition. Here's an exchange earlier today at the ABC's The World Today:

JEAN KENNEDY: But Mr Leunig says the anti-war cartoon he drew in 2002 depicting the Auschwitz concentration camp, and which The Age refused to publish, was sent in by someone pretending to be him.

MICHAEL LEUNIG: Oh, it was a sort of a formal little thing saying hello, my name is Michael Leunig, here is this cartoon which cannot be published in my own country, I want to submit it.

JEAN KENNEDY: He says he contacted the Iranian newspaper's website last night and asked that it be removed. The paper agreed and issued an apology.

But Mr Leunig has told Melbourne ABC presenter Jon Faine that the incident is the latest in a series of controversies he's become embroiled in over his anti-war stance.

MICHAEL LEUNIG: You know, I've been set up, horribly, maliciously, and to me it denotes what it means to stand up against this conflict and this warlike sort of state the world is in and, you know, it's difficult to take that stance in the public arena.

JON FAINE: Do you think you might know who's behind the hoax? Don't name anybody, but have you got in your mind any theories?

MICHAEL LEUNIG: Um, yes I've had a few emails recently, kind of anonymous emails, you know, taunting me to enter this competition, saying come on, you'd be a natural, said one of them. You know, these taunts come at me all the time and, look, it could be any number of people.

There are a number of columnists and bloggers who have been particularly hateful to me for quite a long time and have suggested all sorts of hurtful and hateful things towards me. And you know, the mind jumps towards all these kinds of people. But I must refrain from imagining anybody in particular. It could be, it could be a kid.

JEAN KENNEDY: The Age newspaper says it's seeking legal advice on Mr Leunig's behalf.

The Communication's Director at The Age is Nigel Henham.

NIGEL HENHAM: Well The Age is absolutely appalled, as is Michael Leunig, that someone would choose to fraudulently use some of his work, and also represent his words that are simply not his. This is a serious hoax, someone has acted fraudulently, and we are quite appalled by it, quite frankly.

None of the hyperbolic bullshit above can change the fact that the cartoon could easily be interpreted as equating Israeli treatment of Palestinians with Nazi treatment of Jews. Leunig can say what he likes, the cartoon speaks for itself.