Doctor Mendes, I think you have missed the point...

"Instructively, the Iranians chose to mock Jews rather than the Danes who had perpetrated the original offence."

"... they could have published cartoons mocking Moses or Jewish religious practices."

Raising the issue of the Holocaust when discussing free speech need not have anything to do with anti-semitism. It refers instead to the laws that still exist in many European countries preventing free expression of opinions about the Holocaust.

Mocking Danes, Moses, or Jewish religious practises would in no way test freedom of speech in the West, because these topics already enjoy complete freedom.

Although I have no problem acknowledging the Holocaust, I can't help but see some double standards as Europe condemns Islamic censorship while retaining such laws.

Bob James, good point.

There seem to be several places in this article where Mendes seems to think he has shown that Leunig's condemnation for Israel constitutes support for Palestinian violence. I don't see it.

And why must the Holocaust/modern-Israel comparison trivialise the Holocaust? If incorrect, it is equally likely to be a sensationalisation of modern Israeli policy.

I don't think I agree with Leunig either, but (as Bob James mentions) at least it lessens the contrived consensus that Israel are always "the good guys".

It's never good guys versus bad guys. It's one set of bastards vs another.

Claiming that one side's slaughter of civilians is justified is simply offensive. Does that make me an anti-Semite or an Islamophobe?

As far as I can gather, the opposition of the far left to Israel is mainly derived from their ferocious anti-americanism, and hence opposition to a country that principally depends on american support. In this world there is such a thing as guilt by association, and I wouldn't think it very wise for the far left to get too cozy with the muslim extremists. Like it or not, Australia has been targeted early on by the extremists, (remember Bali 2002), and this targeting has little to do with the Iraq war. It is also obvious that the Australian electorate is not going to tolerate the existence of a fifth column of extremists within the country. The recent anti-terrorist legislation was beyond the power of the Commonwealth Parliament alone to enact, and therefore had to be passed by all the states as well, a procedure that has only occurred three or four times since federation, and which represents overwhelming bipartisan political endorsement of the new laws.

As far as Israel is concerned, the old adage "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" would apply above all else, and most Australians would consider Israel to be an ally, and Palestine to be an enemy.

I don't understand why leftist hypocrites can't see how flimsy the positions they take are. That they'll publish an image of the "Piss Christ" and claim Christians are medieval if they protest, yet won't publish Mohammed cartoons out of respect.

Respect? Nothing other than their cowardly fear, at least admit it!

I personally have no problem with any cartoons being published, of Jews, or Christians. I don't believe anything should be off-limits, but such a standard must be applied equally.

Has anybody ever seen a float of Muslims in the Mardi Gra? Say of Lesbians in burqa's, on leashes held by gays dressed as clerics? Why not? Has Fred Nile ever said we should massacre gays as some Australian Islamic clerics have? (anyone interested I will provide links to a meeting Keysar Trad was at, among others)

I just can't stand the hypocrisy, cowardly nature of the editors. And only a week after Muslims worldwide showed their true nature, that many are barbarians who will kill over a cartoon, SBS published pics of Abu Graib photo's, which WILL enflame anger.

Besides the photos, apart from 1, being nothing bad, they were just of dead bodies, big deal - it's not as if the US killed them in cold blood, yet this is torture? Undies on heads, faeces rubbed on their faces? Come on, this is ugly yes, but torture is those underground cells they've recently found in Iraq where Sunni's are tortured with acid that peels skin, hung from the roof until wrists dislocate. Yet not a word from the Muslim world.

Do they even care about torture? No. They only care when it's a non-Muslim doing it.

I really don't understand some of the people here...

FREE speech is exactly that.... free. It can be one persons opinion, it can be a group of people's opinions and so on and so on.

So Leunig's cartoons are his opinions as to how he sees the world. Why then does he have to be labelled leftist. Surely you can have an opinion without being right, left, middle, fascist, communist etc.

To those who bag his cartoons you don't understand the simplest concept of free speech. I am quite happy to listen to your opinion and you are free to hold it and speak it... but so is Leunig.

Cartoonist are usually controversial... It is what they do... Is every cartoonist a lefty?

As I have said many times if it offends you don't look at it... Simple really... It's the same argument as turning off the TV when you don't like a show...

But if you deny someone's right to free speech then you shouldn't be a hypocrit... deny your own as well and shut your mouth or in this case stop typing!