New York, NY, May 11, 2004 … Newspapers across the Muslim and Arab world have intensified their attacks on Jews, Israel and the United States, with the U.S.-led occupation in Iraq and President George W. Bush's policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict taking prominence in cartoons rife with anti-American themes and bald-faced anti-Semitism.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which regularly monitors anti-Semitism in the Muslim and Arab press, today expressed alarm over the growing propensity for Arab newspapers to engage in outrageous and incendiary attacks against America, often by portraying America's government and political leadership as being "controlled by Zionists."

"We have seen an alarming ratcheting up of incitement focused specifically against the United States, with bald-faced anti-Semitism being the prime agent in the attacks," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director and author of Never Again? The Threat of the New Anti-Semitism (HarperSanFrancisco, 2003).  "Anti-Semitism has always figured prominently in the Muslim and Arab press, but what has emerged in recent weeks is a dangerous cross-pollination, of hatred for the United States mixed with unrestrained anti-Semitism.  This is not surprising, for what better way to engender hatred for America than by tapping into the wellspring of anti-Jewish hate that already exists on the Arab street?"

In recent cartoons and commentaries from newspapers in Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar, America is repeatedly characterized as an imperialistic aggressor whose government is held captive by Jews and Zionists.  Jews are routinely portrayed as hook-nosed, demonic, conspiratorial and greedy.  The images are featured in ADL's report, Arab Media Review: Anti-Semitism and Other Trends.

Some examples include:

• President Bush being made to dance over a Jewish menorah, in a cartoon headlined "The American
  Elections," (Akhbar al-Khalij, Bahrain, March 19, 2004.)
  
  
• America as a hatchet-wielding giant that has split open the head of the "Arab world."  Into the gaping wound he drops a handful of Stars of David (Akhbr al-Khalij, Bahrain, March 7, 2004.)
  
  
• A cartoon strip showing the U.S. putting the "Arab Nations" into a blender and then feeding the mixture to a "Jewish" dog (Al-Wafd, Egypt, March 17, 2004).
  
  
• President Bush with his ear to the "American Media" – an image of Uncle Sam with a stereotypical bearded Jew on his tongue (Ad-Dustur, Jordan, February 17, 2004.)
  
  
• Uncle Sam feeding a gluttonous stereotypical Jew with "Iraq Oil," (Al-Watan, Oman, March 24, 2004.)
  
  
• The Republican and Democratic parties are racing toward the White House with stereotypical Jews mounted on their shoulders with Arab world held captive beneath (Al-Watan, Oman, March 4, 2004.)

The report also includes examples of the Arab Media's response to the killing of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and the Israeli security fence in the West Bank.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.