{"id":117284,"date":"2024-11-26T17:05:51","date_gmt":"2024-11-26T15:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=117284"},"modified":"2024-11-26T07:22:00","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T05:22:00","slug":"26-05-103","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=117284","title":{"rendered":"Israel vs. Palestine in Manga"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>Israel vs. Palestine in Manga<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Jem Hanan<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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The conflict in the Middle East is playing out in the world\u2019s most popular form of graphic art<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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Makoto Tanaka<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Since Oct. 7, comic artists, both Japanese and Israeli, have used manga as a medium to convey their thoughts about the Israel-Hamas war and its consequences, speaking to Japanese, Israeli and Palestinian, and global audiences. Through manga, all of these artists hope to voice their sometimes complex, sometimes unrefined, but always honest feelings about the events surrounding Oct. 7 and after. As the mangaka Guy Lenman explained, \u201cI knew from the start I wanted to create comics about that, because this is my art, this is my talent. I will use it for good, I hope.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Manga is no stranger to political expression, having cemented itself in the cultural zeitgeist of Japan after World War II. The influence of American comics is evident in early popular manga, an obvious example being Osamu Tezuka\u2019s\u00a0Astro Boy<\/em>. Like most manga,\u00a0Astro Boy\u00a0<\/em>was adapted into an anime, achieving massive national success. Underlying the flashy, bug-eyed characters of the era was a country\u2019s attempts to cope with the military defeat and atomic destruction it suffered, wounds that were still fresh in the minds of artists and their audience. As Japan grew into a confident postwar society, manga became a full-fledged cultural phenomenon, fragmenting into vastly different genres, from romance to horror, read by all ages and all genders, in what became a multi-billion-dollar industry with global reach and significance.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the early 2000s, anime and manga began to trickle into the media of other countries, one of them being Israel, where Nippon Animation aired adaptations of beloved and classic Western stories, such as Peter Pan, on Israeli cable television. Although an odd departure from its source material, these productions still effectively captured the hearts of many a young Israeli viewer, one of them being Guy Lenman. Although he later pivoted to a grungier, less stylized iteration of Japanese cartooning (citing inspiration from the style of\u00a0Fullmetal Alchemist<\/em>), Lenman says that the adaptations were the first to make him realize that he \u201creally enjoyed the anime style.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Lenman started posting his personal manga-influenced art online, sometimes depicting fantastical creatures and other times one-page comics illustrating small moments in his life. He gravitated toward sci-fi fantasy stories, eventually founding Freelines Studio with his colleague and longtime friend Nimrod Fridman. The two got their big break at the 13th Japan International Manga Award, where they won first prize for their manga\u00a0Piece of Mind.\u00a0<\/em>The comic deals with questions of humanity, one\u2019s true self, and empathy, themes that Lenman says he imbued into his latest work\u2014a manga for an anthology featuring the work of 12 graphic novelists titled\u00a0In the Heart of October 7th<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

An image from Guy Lenman and Nimrod Fridman\u2019s book \u2018Piece of Mind,\u2019 which won first prize at the 13th Japan International Manga Award<\/em><\/span>
\nCourtesy Guy Lenman<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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Through his anthology, Lenman aims to share the stories of everyday people on Oct. 7. He chose to focus on the lives of his parents-in-law, Marcel and Dror Kaplun, who were murdered by Hamas on their kibbutz the morning of Oct. 7. At first, Lenman and his wife believed that the two were taken as hostages, since Hamas released videos of Marcel and Dror being attacked, but neither of their bodies were found. However, as investigations continued, Marcel\u2019s body was recovered, and soon after, a salvaged piece of a hipbone was identified as belonging to Dror.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Lenman says that going into the project, it was particularly important to him to portray the whole truth\u2014he said to himself, \u201cThe truth is so horrible and so horrifying and so terrible, you will not show anything (unless) you know for a fact it happened.\u201d Lenman investigated the videos released by Hamas in excruciating detail, taking note of each and every one of the terrorists\u2019 actions and directly translating the Arabic spoken. I asked Lenman why it was so important for him to be this meticulous about telling Marcel and Dror\u2019s story, even if it meant reliving the terror of that day again and again. He answered with the following:<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A lot of artists, because of the heinous acts of Hamas, drew them as demons; there\u2019s so much anger. I thought,\u00a0that\u2019s not right for me<\/em>. I wanted to show them as\u00a0people<\/em>\u00a0who did terrible things, because we are all people and we are capable of that. I think lots of people want to avert their gaze when they see really horrible stuff because either it\u2019s too hard to take in, or it makes the world more gray, and we want to think about the world as black and white\u2014there are good people and bad people. Lots of people are desperately trying to find out \u201cwho are the bad guys and who are the good guys\u201d and they\u2019re so divided. Of course, there are horrible acts committed by people, but it\u2019s not that simple. If you want to form an educated opinion, you have to face the reality and really study it. Then, at least form your opinion about the affair. It\u2019s a complicated issue. Human nature is complicated.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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The Japanese medium allowed Lenman to tell a story that was not only essentially Israeli but also fundamentally human. And yet, a cultural exchange involves not one but two parties. So what do the Japanese mangaka make of the events of Oct. 7?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When Netflix\u2019s\u00a0Unorthodox\u00a0<\/em>debuted on the platform, it enthralled an already established Japanese mangaka: Makoto Tanaka. While her career started with comics depicting life after attending a music university, it eventually morphed into one exploring, and sometimes even romanticizing, Jewish and Israeli culture. \u201cI have been publishing information about Jewish culture and Israel since 2022,\u201d said Tanaka, as stated on her\u00a0personal website<\/a>. Tanaka\u2019s works began to include manga featuring trips to Israel,\u00a0El Al airlines<\/a>, and chibi style (a style of manga caricature with big-head, small-body proportions) Hasidic rabbis, sidelocks and all.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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After Oct. 7, Tanaka\u2019s artistic agenda shifted to the events concerning the Israel-Hamas war. Anime girls with shocking,\u00a0tekhelet<\/em>-blue hair swathed in bright yellow ribbon, manga panels commemorating fallen IDF soldiers, and characters draped in the Israeli flag soon flooded Tanaka\u2019s Instagram. Her patriotism eventually caught the attention of the Israeli Embassy, which commissioned her to produce a\u00a0manga\u00a0<\/a>about the life of now-released hostage Noa Argamani.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Manga has allowed artists to tell a story that is not only essentially Israeli but fundamentally human.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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According to the Israeli ambassador to Japan, Gilad Cohen, Tanaka\u2019s manga \u201cis a unique project that was created with the aim of continuing to raise the awareness of the issue of the hostages in Japan.\u201d In some ways, Tanaka seems to serve as a link between the Israeli and Japanese governments, partaking in government initiatives to unite the nations behind a common cause: the release of the hostages.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Other manga artists in Japan have expressed solidarity with Palestine. An example of this is the Japanese mangaka community\u2019s adoption of the Twitter movement #WithHandala. Handala was originally the conception of Palestinian cartoonist Naji Salim al-Ali. Growing up in a refugee camp, al-Ali drew political cartoons that became renowned for their scathing critique of Arab and Israeli regimes and were published in newspapers across the world. One of his characters, Handala, a 10-year-old boy, is perpetually shown standing with his back turned to the viewer and his hands clasped behind his back\u2014a silent, enduring witness to the events taking place in the Middle East. The character has since become synonymous with the Palestinian cause.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The first use of Handala as a figure for cartoonists to show their support for the Palestinian people was spearheaded by\u00a0Francesca Ghermandi<\/a>. Ghermandi, an Italian illustrator herself, amassed a group of 80 Italian cartoonists to draw their own characters in Handala\u2019s iconic posture.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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After its publication, the Italian collection piqued the interest of three Japanese artists\u2014Tokushige Kawakatsu (a mangaka), Mariko Matsushita (a painter), and Zohre Miha (a photograph artist)\u2014who organized their own Japanese iteration of the Handala project. \u201cSeeing this campaign in Italy, we planned this project in the hope that we could create an appeal with the cooperation of Cartoonists in Japan, along with Handala, to appeal for the back of their own characters,\u201d the three wrote in a\u00a0published statement<\/a>. The mangakas of Japan could join the movement by posting the back of their character in Handala\u2019s fashion on X with the hashtag \u201cwithHandala.\u201d #withHandala blew up, with many well-established mangakas partaking in the movement. One of these artists was Kamome Shirahama, creator of the popular manga series\u00a0Witch Hat Atelier<\/em>, which has amassed a cult following over the course of its serialization with an anime adaptation on the horizon. Shirahama\u00a0posted<\/a>\u00a0a drawing of the series\u2019 main character, Coco, in the Handala pose, captioning it \u201cI join Handala in calling for an immediate ceasefire. #withHandala.\u201d [\u201c\u30cf\u30f3\u30c0\u30e9\u3068\u5171\u306b\u5373\u6642\u505c\u6226\u3092\u6c42\u3081\u307e\u3059\u3002#withHandala<\/a>\u201d; translation]. As of October 2024, the post has received 2.4 million views.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Returning to its roots, manga is once again conveying the sentiments surrounding war through the same bold lines and large eyes as it did over 75 years ago. This time, however, it has also created a unique space for discourse between cultures that may seem at odds with each other. Artists like Lenman, Tanaka, and the participants in the #withHandala movement reveal the remarkably perennial and culturally transcendent characteristics of manga, which speaks to children and adults alike in a language that uniquely belongs to the art form.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Jem Hanan<\/strong> is a sophomore at Barnard College, Columbia University.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Israel vs. Palestine in Manga Jem Hanan The conflict in the Middle East is playing out in the world\u2019s most popular form of graphic art . Makoto Tanaka Since Oct. 7, comic artists, both Japanese and Israeli, have used manga as a medium to convey their thoughts about the Israel-Hamas war and its consequences, speaking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117284"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=117284"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":117297,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117284\/revisions\/117297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=117284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=117284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=117284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}