'Banned Frank' – A follow up on Anne Frank and the scarf
UPDATED! See below
I few days ago I wrote about Anne Franks picture with a keffiyah on a t-shirt. It is not only to be seen on t-shirts but also on free greeting cards from Boomerang:
This card has caused quite a stir. First a CIDI, Jewish interest group, has protested against these cards, claiming that a combination of the symbol of the Holocaust with the symbol of the Palestinian struggle is a wrong one because it means that Jews are seen as the oppressors of today while the Palestinians are compared to the Jews during WWII. The protest is not a succes and the card remains therefore, Boomerang claiming the message of the card is one of peace and reconciliation.
Also on the WWW there has been some discussion about this such as here, here, here, here, here, and here. Very interesting in this case is also Omars blog, who does not only provide us with a picture of Anne Frank, but also one from Jesus with a keffiyah from Sharif Abdunnur, titled Christ is Palestinian.
UPDATE 1: Boomering has decided not to distribute their ‘Banned Frank’ cards anymore (and therefore I had to include another copy of the picture above).
Curiously, I am more troubled by the Anne Frank image than the Christ image. After all, there are many Christian Palestinian Arabs, and they do make a good point — Nazareth is in modern Palestine. The imagery is a useful reminder of that.
But the Anne Frank image, in light of the collaboration of the Palestinian Arabs with the Nazis, is deeply offensive.
I agree with TigerHawk even though I’m Catholic and a BIG Jesus fan.
Tigerhawk, I think what’s most interesting about this stencil is how differently people perceive it. As T-Stenciles themselves (original creators) refused to accompany it with any descriptions and left it for the viewers to decide on what’s the message conveyed.
I personally see a lot in common between Anne Frank (as a victim of Nazis) and Palestinians (victims of Israelis) – they both been through hell, yet Palestinians are still going through it everyday and there aren’t any diaries by a Palestinian girl that been published widely around the globe regarding their experience and struggle with Israelis.
Therefore I see it as a symbol to show similarities in both cases as well to send a subliminal message on how Israelis and the whole world condemn the holocaust yet they are not paying attention to the Massacres going on in Palestine – on yearly basis and they all overcome and get over it…
Please understand that’s my own opinion so you’re completely entitled to disagree with me on so many levels 🙂
Dear TigerHawk
I found disturbing that today everybody recalls the contacts that some ‘Palestinian’ leaders had with the Nazi and Fascist authorities, but omits another grim side of the dirty political battle for Jerusalem at that time.
Both some Arabs and some Zionist leaders (the so-called Zionist-Revisionists) had contacts with the German Nazi and Italian Fascist regimes in an attempt to achieve the same goal: a nation for their people in the contended Holy Land.
I have posted about this topic here
I have also devoted a chapter to this discussion in my book Jihad Beyond Islam
Best wishes
Gabriele
You know what’s really disturbing..Anne Franke herself..God she was ugly..seriously