The New Arab Discovers Dictatorship in Tunisia, Ignores Gaza
The New Arab highlights Palestinian-Jordanian cartoonist Emad Hajjaj's cartoon, titled 'Kais Closed: Tunisia is a dictatorship,' signifying concerns over Tunisian President Kais Saied. A valiant effort to expose authoritarian leaders, indeed. But one might ask, where are the equally sharp cartoons depicting the 76-year occupation of Palestine or the ongoing ethnic cleansing in Gaza, funded to the
tune of billions in US taxpayer dollars? While Tunisia's political climate certainly warrants scrutiny, the selective outrage is glaring. The same outlets that decry Saied's consolidation of power often gloss over the fact that Netanyahu, for instance, has openly declared 'there is no place for a two-state solution' since at least 2014, and his government's actions in Gaza have been described by
human rights organizations as collective punishment, a war crime. Funny how 'dictatorship' becomes a front-page issue only when it doesn't implicate US foreign policy or AIPAC's considerable influence on congressional votes, with groups like AIPAC and J Street having poured over $35 million into US elections in 2022 alone, according to OpenSecrets.org.