Unveiling the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict during "Toofan Al aqsa Operation": A Social Semiotic Analysis of Latuff’s Political Cartoons

Abstract

In the context of the diversity of political issues in the world, social semiotic analysis of images and texts expressing these events is an important tool for understanding how meanings are constructed and perceptions are shaped within social contexts. This study offers a social semiotic analysis of Carlos Latuff's political cartoons about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict particularly since the beginning of "Toofan Al Aqsa", October, 7, 2023. Hence, by employing a multimodal communication approach, these cartoons portrayed the interplay of visual and written elements, which create a rich tapestry of meaning, inviting an audience to discover the complexities of the conflict specially the suffering of Palestine. Our research aims to unravel the complex layers of meaning, power dynamics, and cultural nuances inherent in the conflict through different semiotic resources. It explores how Latuff used those resources to convey messages and ideologies; this study also sheds light on the role of social semiotics and political cartoons in expressing sentiments, struggles, and aspirations amidst the turmoil of the conflict. In this regard, the sample selected for this study is taken from Twitter website; it consists of four cartoons of the Brazilian cartoonist Carlos Latuff. Then, in order to carry out of the multimodal analysis of that sample within an exploratory, descriptive qualitative research, we used Kress and Van Leeuwen's framework "Grammar of visual Design" as a theoretical approach. Ultimately, the findings of this study showed that the cartoonist focused on use some social semiotic resources rather than others are in a good way, and that they are powerful in depiction the Israel agenda during this war. It also revealed that combining text and image helps in shape perceptions, and provoke critical engagement with the complexities of the conflict.