A cartoon of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon eating the head of a Palestinian baby against the backdrop of a burning Palestinian city has won first prize in the British Political Cartoon Society's annual competition.

  There were 35 entries in the Cartoon of the Year competition, sponsored by the British Independent newspaper, from some of the country's leading cartoonists.

  Dave Brown's winning cartoon was published in the Independent a few months ago, when it was claimed that it was inspired by a Goya painting.

  In his acceptance speech, Brown thanked the Israeli Embassy for its angry reaction to the cartoon, which he said had contributed greatly to its publicity.

  Al-Ghoul is pleased to present the cartoon here with only minor modifications made for accuracy.

  The documentary film, Jenin: Massacring Truth, addresses the grossly irresponsible world media coverage of the ID's 2002 Jenin incursion, which left an indelible stain on world opinion of Israel.

  The film includes a revealing exchange between filmmaker Martin Himel and Dr. Tim Benson, founder of the British editorial cartoonists' society that honored the Sharon-eating-babies cartoon with its 2003 'Cartoon of the Year':

  Himel: My question to you is, why, in all these [images] don't we see Sharon and Arafat eating babies?

  Benson: Maybe because Jews don't issue fatwas.

  Himel: What do you mean by that?

  Benson: Well, if you upset an Islamic or Muslim group, as you know, fatwas can be issued by Ayatollahs and such, and maybe it's at the back of each cartoonist's mind, that they could be in trouble if they do so.

  Himel: If they do what?

  Benson: If they depict, uh, say, an Arab leader in the same manner.

  Himel: Then they could suffer?

  Benson: Then they could suffer death, couldn't they?

  Benson's statement is an open admission that Arab/Palestinian intimidation produces an anti-Israel bias among western journalists.

  When questioned about his organization's award by Honest Reporting Dr. Benson replied:

  You have all taken this award completely out of perspective and context. Shame on you! We do so much good. If only you looked at our website properly you would have noticed that in fact we promote anti-fascism and educate about the dangers of extremism.

  The film educates us on one of the the dangers of Muslim extremism; intimidation of his journalist colleagues, cowed into a false portrayal of the Mideast conflict. We now also understand the proper 'perspective and context' of the Sharon cartoon; a threatening environment to journalists who dare portray Arab leaders in a negative light.

  Palestinian intimidation of the press is a key contributing factor to biased coverage of the Mideast conflict.

  Example: Ramallah, 2002, as related by Jerusalem Post reporter Khaled Abu Toameh:

  With a crowd of international reporters standing around, two Palestinian policemen brought a man out, threw him up against a wall and shot him; right under the window of Arafat's office. When the reporters converged, the policeman seemed bewildered. It was just a simple execution, nothing to get excited about, he said. And no one did. In fact, according to Abu Toameh, no one else even mentioned it.