Art as Resistance with Palestinian Cartoonist Mohammad Sabaaneh – Part 1
Mark Seddon is in conversation with Palestinian cartoonist Mohammad Sabaaneh.
The rich discussion ranges from topics such as resistance through art, ‘free speech’ on Israel in the media, representation of the people vs ruling elites in Israel and Palestine, the dangers of self-censorship, 'vaccine apartheid', life in Israeli prison, the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement, the upcoming Palestinian elections and more!
Watch the interview in full now on Patreon.
Mohammad: I’m Mohammad Sabaaneh, Palestinian cartoonist, I live in Ramallah. I have just finished my masters degree from the UK, I got a Chevening Scholarship. I finished my masters degree in illustration at the University of the Creative Arts. I published my first book in the United States, in the UK and Spain and now I am working on my second book. It is going to be a comics book and I will publish the first edition with street noise published in the United States, also I will publish it in the UK.
Mark: Mohammad welcome, thanks for that great introduction. My name is Mark Seddon, I’m in Britain and I have worked with cartoonists most of my life as a journalist as well but from the safety of their homes in Britain where they don’t face arrest and where they have licence really to draw and say what they want…
It must have been very difficult to work as you have done in an environment where there is no real room for criticism?
Mohammad: Actually I think it’s boring to be in all of these safe conditions to do your artwork as a cartoonist…
All of the cartoonists in the Arab World are in a bad situation…
They want to demolish our reputation around the world by accusing us of being anti-semitic cartoonists…
Mark: Do you sometimes when you sit down think, I better be a bit careful because…
Mohammad: No, that is very dangerous, because as I mentioned, we are not just working as a cartoonist in a newspaper, we are keeping our narrative as a Palestinian people, for the people around the world, and conveying our narrative for the people around the world. If I adopt this censorship and start thinking about that…
“I do believe that the cartoon is the art for all the people”
I have just drawn this sketch and I think this sketch will be censored from a lot of websites and maybe by social media, from Facebook, because I am trying to describe what is going on now in Palestine, how the Israelis surrounding the Palestinian people are preventing them from the getting the vaccine for Coronavirus as a holocaust. You are putting the people inside a jail without any tools to protect themselves, to vaccine their people, now you are leaving all of your responsibility as an occupation to help these prisoners inside your prison. If I adopt this censorship it is going to be very dangerous for my narrative that will be conveyed for the next generation and for the people around the world.
Mark: And yet Mohammad you are effectively facing censorship from media organisations out there…
Mohammad: I want to mention something – I do not think there is freedom of speech around the world when the topic is Israel. A lot of cartoonists around the world face a lot of problems because they criticise Israel. Steve Bell in the Guardian faced a big campaign and some of his cartoons were dropped from the Guardian because he criticised Netanyahu and he was accused [of being an] antisemitic cartoonist. Martin Rosen, my friend, the same thing. Vasco from Portug[al], Antonio Antunes in the New York Times when he criticised Netanyahu and he described his relationship with Trump. A lot of cartoonists around the world, they face the problem because they criticise Israel and they were accused of being antisemitic. There is no freedom of speech when the topic is Israel. Not just for the Palestinian cartoonist, it is an international issue. And that is why now I am trying to provoke all of these international organisations where they are talking about the freedom of speech that there is no - nothing - freedom of speech when the topic is Israel.
“there is no - nothing - freedom of speech when the topic is Israel”
Mohammad: My parents used the Naji al-Ali cartoons to tell me about the situation in Palestine. I do believe that the cartoon is the art for all the people. It is free for all the people, you can see, you can collect this art from the newspaper without paying money to the artist.
Now here in Palestine we have just three daily newspapers. And we have opportunity just for three cartoonists to work in daily newspaper[s].
Mark: This is what people need to know, you have been picked on by both the Israelis and the Palestinian leadership, it is an extraordinary thing. And in a way no British cartoonist would experience this kind of threat to their existence.
Mohammad: Not just the Palestinian Authority, one of my big problems was with the Islamic Movement. I was blacklisted in 2008 because I criticised the Islamic movement here in Palestine, not just the Palestinian Authority, but not just Israel, problem with all the political parties, the Palestinian Authority, the Israeli party but I do believe that what I do is represent my people and is why I do that and I will keep doing that because I do believe that what I do now is very important for my people, to convey their narrative for the people around the world.
My second book is going to be the first Palestinian comics from Palestine because I have started this project in the UK during my masters degree and now when I travel back to Palestine I keep doing that work… to convey our narrative for the people around the world. It is very important for us as a Palestinian to use the art as a tool of resistance and as a tool to convey our narrative for the people around the world because the Israelis try just to depict the Palestinian people as a people who just want to kill the Israelis. No, it is not right.
