"Jordanian cartoonist Naser Al Jafari, who won third place in an international award on political cartoons on Sunday said he rejected the prize because it is “funded by a pro-Israel cartoonist”.
Jafari, who works as a cartoonist at Al Ghad daily, won the $3,000 third prize in the 2012 United Nations/Ranan Lurie International Political Cartoon Award. Jafari, who applied for the award in October last year, said he received some papers and a cheque by mail in early January informing him that he won third place. “The cheque I received was signed by Lurie himself. Then I did some research about him and asked colleagues in the profession about him and discovered that he has connections with the Zionist entity [Israel],” Jafari told The Jordan Times. “I refused to accept the award because it is funded by Lurie who is known for supporting the Zionist entity and has a history of dealing with the Zionist movement. I cannot accept an award from such a person,” the cartoonist said, adding that “Lurie has never condemned any of Israel’s practices against the Palestinians”.
“Although this is a UN award that is judged by international experts, when I realised it is funded by someone who is pro-Israel, I decided to refuse it,” Jafari added."
