Enlarge image
Catalogue information
LastDodo number
5672039
Area
Drawings / paintings
Title
Bernadotte peace goal
Artist
Art object
Art Movement / style
Genre
Material
Technique used
Colouring
Dimensions
36 x 29 cm
Series / hero
Collection / set
Number
Addition to number
Year
1948
Country
Language
Details
Original editorial cartoon on card in pen, ink and crayon, 1948, syndicated to a number of newspapers, shows a burning candle representing the plan for Palestine (which proposed two independent states) just completed by Folke Bernadotte, a Swedish nobleman who had been appointed United Nations Mediator in Palestine in May 1948 to deal with the ‘lawlessness and murder’ rife in Palestine and bring about a truce between the Arabs and Israelis. On 17 September 1948, the day on which the plan was presented, Bernadotte was assassinated by members of the armed Zionist group Lehi (also known as the Stern Gang or Stern Group). A future Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Shamir, is alleged to have been a member of the group which approved the killing. They regarded Bernadotte as a stooge of the British and their Arab allies, and therefore as a serious threat to the emerging state of Israel. More specifically, a truce (brought about by Bernadotte) was in force and Lehi feared that the Israeli leadership would agree to Bernadotte's peace proposals, which they considered disastrous. They did not know that the Israeli leaders had already decided to reject Bernadotte's plans. Card size 36 x 29 cm (14 x 11.5 inch), image size 30 x 27 cm, signed lower right with nine zeros as underline. In very good condition.