PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The University of Pennsylvania is the focus of another controversy related to claims of antisemitism. A Penn lecturer is under fire for publishing political cartoons critical of the Israel-Hamas war. Penn’s interim president calls them “reprehensible,” but the artist is defending his work.
The adjunct professor at the center of this controversy is Dwayne Booth, who teaches political cartoon courses at the Annenberg School for Communication. He publishes under the name “Mr. Fish.”
Watchdog group Stop Antisemitism has called out a number of Booth's cartoons specifically. One of them shows Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shoveling skulls. Another depicts three men drinking blood out of glasses labeled “Gaza” with the U.S. and Israeli flags in the background. Another has a gun with an Israeli flag pointed at a baby. All of which were posted to his site within the last three months.
Penn’s interim President Larry Jameson, in a statement, said he finds the cartoons “reprehensible with antisemitic symbols and incongruent with our efforts to fight hate.”
He emphasized that the cartoons were posted on a personal website, were not taught in the classroom, and do not reflect the views of the University of Pennsylvania.
Jameson added, “it is painful to see the suffering and tragic loss of life of non-combatants in Israel and Gaza be fodder for satire.”
Booth posted a statement on Instagram, defending his work and writing about the role of an artist to provoke “deeper conversations about important cultural and political realities” and inspire “meaningful and open debate.”
Booth said it "saddens [him] that Jameson’s statement attempts to placate the controversy in deference to those attempting to limit free speech, academic freedom, and attack independent journalism in service of an agenda designed to silence debate rather than encourage it."
He says it's not the first time he's elicited such heated responses.
“Cartoonists have sent themselves willingly into such crosshairs for quite literally many centuries. Done effectively and in service of keeping democracy strong, I hope it continues,” he said.