EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK
LETTERS
Letters are posted
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www.detroitjewishnews.com
A
Crossing The Line
s a journalist, I cherish the press freedoms we enjoy in America. But
that doesn't mean everything goes.
The Detroit Free Press didn ' t hide behind the First Amendment in
rejecting a comic strip that seems to push Christianity over Judaism.
Laudably, it stood by its instincts. It's not unlawful to espouse one religion over
another or even proselytize. But it's wrong to do either on the funny pages. You
look there for respite, not ridicule.
At issue is Johnny Hart's "B.C.," a popular strip, serving
1,300 Sunday newspapers, that depicts cavemen commenting
on modern life. The Easter Sunday installment depicts a seven-
branched menorah that reveals a cross once all the candles burn
— and the line, "It is finished." The implication, coming on
the last day of Pesach as well as Easter, seems to be that with the
Resurrection, Judaism is no more.
I'm not sure this particular "B.C." is pushing "the theory
that Christianity has replaced Judaism as 'the chosen faith'
ROBERT A. because Jews do not accept Jesus as the messiah," as the Arizona
Jewish Defense League suggests.
SKLAR
But I'm not sure it isn't, either.
Editor
Jews and Christians have made great inroads in building
bridges of understanding and tolerance; a comic strip is not the
place for fragile, vague ecumenical commentary.
The Free Press holds the Detroit Newspapers' publishing rights to "B.C." The
strip will continue on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but has been dropped on Sundays
because of less space for comics. John Smyntek, special features
and syndicate editor, rejected the Easter Sunday installment. "I
felt people with an honest, deeply held belief in the Jewish faith
would be offended by it," he told me last Friday.
He said he would have done the same had the strip shown a
"Jewish menorah metamorphasizing into an Islam crescent star"
— and I would have, too. I would never leave something as per-
sonal as religion open to purely comic interpretation.
Smyntek stressed a point that I often do: "We edit every-
John Smyntek
thing for content and keep a careful watch where necessary."
Staying Vigilant
Over the past 20 years, Smyntek says the "B.C." artist has allowed his Christian
fundamentalist beliefs to creep in more and more. " `B.C.' was harmless for
years," Smyntek said. "Johnny Hart is considered one of America's pioneering
cartoonists for wit and wisdom, and he still is most of time — but not this
time.
In a statement released by his distributor, Los Angeles-based Creators Syndi-
cate, Hart said he believes "Jesus of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah" and hopes
the latest attention paid to "B.C." boosts interest in religious awareness. "I
regret if some people misunderstood the strip and it hurt their feelings," he said.
"I abhor the so-called 'Replacement Theology.' This is a holy week for both
Christians and Jews, and my intent was to pay tribute to both."
If that was his intent, why did he draw such an inflammatory cartoon to
champion it? His "tribute" could pass for being anti-Semitic, even if that wasn't
the intent.
As cartoonists get more adventurous in subject matter, editors must be more
vigilant — and that's happening across the country.
Even editorial cartoons can cross the line of decency. By their nature, they
provoke and make a statement through exaggerated caricature. But they should-
n't be steeped in prejudice or be extremely offensive under the veil of political
commentary. That's the criteria I use in picking a Dry Bones cartoon for our
Opinion pages each week.
Alas, it's not always easy pinpointing offensive content. Sensibilities vary. So
do nuances.
At the Jewish News, we strive to be compelling and viral, but also sensitive
and fair. That's our constant battle — and our eternal quest.
AN AMAZING
EVENT TO HELP
CHILDREN WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS!
Just As Much
Right To Build
You state in an editorial ("Bad Tim-
ing," April 13, page 31) that Israel's
plan to build 700 new homes in Jew-
ish West Bank settlements is a "need-
less provocation" of "Palestinian
anger. "
Without Samaria and Judea (which
includes Jerusalem), our Jewish people
would be a people without a history
or a heart.
Jews have as much right to live in
their historic homeland as they have
to live in Paris, London, New York or
Oak Park.
The West Bank was Jordan's
name for Judea and Samaria, which
they seized and annexed in 1948.
That name is now used commonly
in place of Judea and Samaria so
that Judaism and the Holy Land
will not be linked.
Arabs are freely moving in and
building housing in Judea and
Samaria — aided by the United
Nations and the Palestinian Libera-
tion Organization, which says all of
Israel is their Palestine. That Arab
building is financed by European
nations, our America and, as strange
as it may be, by Israel itself.
Israel's survival depends on its bor-
der being at the Jordan River, an
Israel 40 miles wide. The 1949 cease-
fire line — the center of Israel just
nine miles wide and Jews losing their
holy Jerusalem — is a "death trap."
Hymie Cutler
director,
Michigan Committee for a Safe Israel
Detroit
A Right To Live
In Judea, Samaria
I disagree with your editorial ("Bad
Timing," April 13, page 31) that
states Israel should reconsider its
plan to allow some 700 new homes
to be built in the West Bank settle-
ments of Ma'aleh Adumim and Alfei
Menashe.
As you correctly state, those partic-
ular settlements are likely to remain
under Israeli control for a long time.
Furthermore, in negotiations up until
now, they were designated to become
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