This cartoon by a Palestinian man shows a Star of David superimposed over what looks like Obama throwing up a gang sign. It was in response to a speech he delivered in Israel last summer. “He showed all the possible support for Israel without conditions, while exercising its occupation of our land and its crimes against our people,” says Mohammad Saba’aneh, the cartoonist, adding that many Palestinians, who anticipated an Obama administration with optimism, were disappointed by the speech. This depiction was Saba’aneh’s response. It appeared in Al-Hayat, a Pan-Arab newspaper, and Al-Ghad in Jordan.
In this Jordanian cartoon, Obama fiddles with Islamic prayer beads, as many Muslim men do; he wears a keffiye, which is generally worn by Muslim men of respect; and he carries a briefcase that reads "Arab issues.” The image is titled, “Obama as the Arabs imagine him…” The illustrator’s message could either be that Obama is genuinely sympathetic to Arab issues, or that pro-Obama expectations in the Arab world are overly optimistic. The cartoon was posted on the blog of the Washington-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which found it in a Jordanian daily newspaper, Al-Arab Al-Yawm, and an Arabic news organization in Jerusalem, Al Quds.
In this cartoon, Obama's first executive decision as president is to change the White House sign. Cartoonist Bruce MacKinnon, who drew it for the Halifax Chronicle-Herald, told a reporter that he intended it as a “humorous sign of hope that America is becoming less prejudiced.” But once the cartoon hit the internet, it was picked up by others, doctored to include racial slurs and Islamic symbols, and redistributed. It even inspired a similarly racist button that was sold at June’s Texas state Republican convention.
The title of this Egyptian cartoon reads, "Hillary and Obama, a woman and a negro, are competing in the American Elections.” In response, the bearded man laments, “Another sign of the collapse of Western Civilization." The web address on the cartoon suggests that it ran in Al-Ahram, a major daily newspaper in Egypt.
In Farsi, Obama's name literally means, "He's with us." “Oo” means he, “ba” means with, and “ma” means us. Puns on the name have run rampant in Iran since Obama entered the race. Here, while still competing in the primaries, Hillary Clinton says to John McCain, "Let's say I do leave the race, then what will you do with Obama?" McCain responds, "Don't worry, he's with us." This particular joke may play on the idea that all American politicians are in bed with one another. This was posted on Iranian.com in February.
This Israeli cartoon plays on the same theme by showing Obama, in a suit, painting the White House black. According to Haitham Sabbah, a prominent Kuwaiti blogger LINK, the cartoon ran in Ma’ariv, a Hebrew language daily newspaper.
In this Kuwaiti cartoon, a devilish looking Obama paints the U.S.A. black after a “sweeping victory in Maine.” It was on MEMRI’s blog, which attributed it to Al-Jarida, a daily newspaper in Kuwait.
