Share

Tweet

Share

Share

Email

Comments

The wonderful world of this amazing man, Yaakov Kirschen ,cartoonist, and any other superlative you may want to add. His Dry Bones political satire cartoon has provided so many of us with a reality check in form of humor of what is happening in the region and beyond when it appeared anything but clear. Here is a recent taste of his work. Good morning world.

Here is his personal commentary
drybones.com
Hamas, the flotilla, and the importing of cars into Gaza? Sometimes I use the Dry Bones cartoons to lampoon the situation and sometimes I use the cartoons to report on news that’s not likely to be picked up by the main stream media. Trouble is that sometimes the news is so bizarre that you’d think that it was satirical. Today’s cartoon is one of those.

Here’s the story as reported by the Jerusalem Post:

“Israel has been under international pressure to ease its blockade of the Gaza Strip, especially after an attack by its commandos on an aid convoy to Gaza last May that left nine dead. Yet, even as Israel has begun to let cars and other once-prohibited goods into the Mediterranean enclave, Hamas itself hasn’t always welcomed the increased flow of goods.Private vehicles joined the list of permitted goods last month. Since then, nine shipments have passed through the Kerem Shalom checkpoint, containing 180 new or slightly used cars.

The problem for Hamas is that it doesn’t profit from the official car imports because the taxes on the vehicles are paid to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, Hamas’ rival for control of the Palestinian territories, said Abu-Shahla. The only reason Hamas allows cars in at all, he said, was to ease pent up demand on the street and mounting criticism of the government, he said

Where it can and does collect taxes is on the vehicles and other goods smuggled through tunnels from Egypt, but the price to the consumer for these vehicles is much higher and the supply is limited. During the years that Israel banned car imports, a new, smuggled automobile — brought in disassembled through the narrow tunnels — could cost up to $40,000. The same car brought through Kerem Shalom now costs about $25,000.” –more

Another Brooklyn boy. Born March 8, 1938. Graduated from Queens College 1961. Wrote and drew funny cards for Norcross. After dismissal for loudness and jocular attitude became a freelance gag cartoonist for the former “Mad Mag” guys who were then doing “Cracked”. Moved on to doing cartoons for Playboy. Included in several “Best Of” Playboy anthologies. Fell in with the anti-Vietnam War folks and was actually elected delegate to the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago where, in spite of all the riots, was unable to get arrested. In 1971 moved to Israel, changed first name from Jerry to Yaakov, and in 1973 began drawing a daily editorial strip called Dry Bones. In 2003 the toon celebrated its 30th year in the Jerusalem Post. It has been reprinted or quoted by the NY Times, Time Mag, LA Times, CBS, AP, etc.
Forbes Mag said about Kirschen: “In the tradition of Nast, Herblock, and Mauldin.”