"Never again" Who is behind the cartoon that shook the world?

A particularly moving moment occurred when he held a powerful cartoon by Peter Brooks, the chief political cartoonist of The Times.

Brooks, known for his sharp criticism of Israel and the Middle East conflict, claims he is "pro-Israel in many ways," but many see problematic bias in some of his work.

On the 5th of Adar in the year 5785 (March 2025) - after meeting with eight released Israeli hostages in Washington, U.S. President Donald Trump published an extremely sharp statement that serves as an ultimatum to Hamas. In his aggressive post on social media, Trump explicitly threatened Hamas leaders and warned that "their time is running out."

Trump further declared, directly addressing Hamas leadership, calling on them "to leave Gaza, while they still have a chance." He concluded his statement with prominent words: "Release the hostages now, or you will pay a heavy price later!"

At the end of the meeting with the released hostages, Trump took a photo with hostage survivor Eli Sharabi, holding a cartoon masterfully comparing the hostage release scenes to Holocaust survivors' scenes.

Peter Brooks, the cartoon created by the British political cartoonist (published on February 10, 2025, in "The Times"), is typically known for lashing out at Trump in his sharp drawings. Brooks is a political cartoonist and artist whose works have been published in many publications, primarily in The Times, where he has been the chief opinion page cartoonist since 1992. Brooks has won "Cartoonist of the Year" in British press awards five times and received a lifetime achievement award from the Cartoon Artists Association in 2017.

Background and Career

Peter Brooks was born in Liverpool on September 28, 1943. The early years of his life included an interesting period in the Royal Air Force (RAF), where he began studying for a degree from the University of London at the RAF College Cranwell, before turning to the world of art.

His passion for art led him to study at the Manchester College of Art and later at the Central School of Arts and Design in London. Before establishing himself as a political cartoonist, Brooks gathered diverse experience in the world of illustration.

A significant turning point in his career came in 1992 when he was invited by The Times' new editor, Peter Suthered, to join as the chief opinion page cartoonist. As Brooks himself noted, after working as a freelance illustrator for The Times, he decided to give political cartoon journalism another chance - and fortunately, they agreed.

Since 1992, Peter Brooks has been creating daily political cartoons for The Times, successfully distilling the nation's political frustrations into one powerful image under the pressure of tight deadlines. His work has become an integral part of British political discourse, and he is known for his unique style and ability to convey sharp and amusing messages simultaneously.

Controversy and Criticism

Despite his claim of being "very pro-Israel in many ways," the organization HonestReporting, which monitors media bias regarding Israel, has examined several of his cartoons over the years and raised questions about the consistency of his stance.

In 2009, The Times published one of his cartoons depicting white phosphorus falling on the Gaza Strip, accompanied by the text: "Twinkle twinkle little star. I wonder what you are, white with phosphorescent glow, burning children below." Brooks described this cartoon as one of his favorites that year.

During Operation Protective Edge in 2014, Brooks created numerous cartoons for The Times, including one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referencing airstrikes on schools in Gaza in the style of the famous U.S. Army recruitment poster with Uncle Sam.

Brooks noted that his cartoons about Gaza during that period "started to become pro-Israel," but after Israel began bombing UN schools, he faced criticism from both sides. HonestReporting pointed out that Brooks did not address that IDF forces were compelled to attack schools because Hamas stored rockets there.

Philosophical Approach

Brooks does not hesitate to provoke controversy but emphasizes that he has no interest in hurting for the sake of hurting. According to him, that would be a "game for fools". Instead, he aims to provoke a response in the context of daily political events, believing it's better to "aim at targets people love".

He describes himself as using "common sense to understand today's big issues, just as readers do". He clarifies that cartoonists like himself have no answers and are not politicians or policy experts. His role is to "raise" these issues from the perspective of an ordinary person who has been given an opportunity to do so.

He often encounters difficulty "translating" strong feelings about a specific story into a visual cartoon. He explains that the greatest challenge in his work is "reducing relatively complex events or ideas into a single image", which is not always simple.

Final Thoughts

Regarding advice for aspiring political cartoonists, Brooks recommends "simply continuing to persist". He notes how challenging it is to be a political cartoonist without real-time pressure and the ability to see the final product in the newspaper.

In a revealing interview, Brooks shared the four essential items on his desk at The Times: a color box, brushes, an electric pencil sharpener, and a hair dryer - which he says is essential for a bald man to dry watercolors as the deadline approaches.