International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, Jan. 29, 2003

The Israeli Embassy in London has sent a strongly worded letter of protest to Britain's Independent newspaper, following an editorial cartoon Monday depicting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon biting the head of a Palestinian baby.

The cartoon's appearance coincided with the UK's third annual Holocaust Memorial Day commemorating the 57th anniversary of the liberation of the infamous Auschwitz death camp.

Set against the background of Apache helicopters firing missiles and blaring the message "Vote Likud," a monster-sized Sharon indignantly sneers, "What's wrong? Have you never seen a politician kissing a baby?"

In her letter, Shuli Davidovich, the embassy's press secretary, writes: "As Britain commemorates National Holocaust Day, I am shocked that The Independent has chosen to evoke an ancient Jewish stereotype which would not have looked out of place in 'Der Sturmer', and which can unfortunately still be found in many Arabic newspapers."

Similar pictures of Jews biting babies were the stock in trade of state sponsored anti-Semitic propaganda in 1930's Nazi Germany, and are recognized by most historians as a having helped prepare the way for Hitler's 'Final Solution,' in which over 6 million European Jews were murdered by the Nazi regime.

Cartoonist Dave Brown was reflecting the often-repeated Palestinian claim that Sharon specifically ordered a dangerous raid on Gaza's weapons factories over the weekend as part of a "policy of escalation" in the run-up to the election, to attract right-wing voters to his governing Likud party.

According to Davidovich, Brown's bloodthirsty imagery, "Not only misrepresents the real reason for the IDF's operations in Gaza, but also feeds the hostility toward Israel and the Jewish people which lies at the very core of the Arab-Israeli conflict."

The raid, in which twelve Palestinian combatants were killed followed the launching of 16 Kassam rockets at Israeli Negev communities over the weekend, the latest of some 1400 similar missile and mortar attacks which have taken place over the past two and a half years.

In her letter to the Independent editor, Davidovich is careful not to level the unequivocal charge of anti-Semitism, but she comes close.

"One must be extremely careful to draw the line between legitimate criticism, and the anti-Semitism that often parades as such," she concludes.

In an email message to supporters, the Embassy's Public Affairs Office, however, does not pull its punches.

"That the mainstream British media could publish such a vile depiction of the Israeli leader speaks volumes about the anti-Israel climate sweeping Europe today," it states despairingly.