An anti-Semitic drawing, depicting Jews as rats, was withdrawn from a Christian art exhibit in Sweden, on March 16.
The drawing shows three rats, one of which is carrying a rifle, eating what appears to be a map of “Palestinian territories.”
The Simon Wiesenthal Center demanded that the drawing be withdrawn from the exhibit for its inherently anti-Semitic nature.
The organization is also urging authorities to investigate if government funds are being used to legitimize anti-Jewish hatred.
Bilda, the Christian study center that organized the exhibit, apologized for the “mistake” and said the intention of the drawing was to “describe how all sides in a conflict are losers,” the Associated Press reported.
Bilda spokesman Magnus Stenberg told AP the image was withdrawn from the exhibit, as well as from the group’s website, once organizers realized its anti-Semitic intent.
The Huffington Post noted that, “Animalization (depicting humans as animals) of Jews was perfected by the Nazi propaganda machine, an all-too effective way to dehumanize Jewish citizens in the eyes of their German neighbors. The propaganda of the 1930s set the stage for the murder of 6 million Jews in the 1940s.”
“Since then, Soviet and Arab and Muslim anti-Jewish propaganda used the very same method to demonize and dehumanize Jews. Now it has surfaced in 2012 Sweden.”