Dark Horse Cancels Holocaust Cartoon Book After Author Rejects Israel Criticism Demand
American comic book publisher Dark Horse, known for titles like "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones," canceled the release of a new Holocaust-themed cartoon book after its author refused to include a politically charged introduction condemning Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Holocaust researcher Dr. Rafael Medoff shared email correspondence with ynet revealing that editor Craig Yoe conditioned the book's publication on a public denunciation of Israel's actions in Gaza and criticism of then-US President Donald Trump for establishing detention centers likened to concentration camps for immigrants.
Dark Horse denied these claims, stating the cancellation was purely commercial and that Yoe was no longer employed by the company. The dispute began after the October 7 massacre, with Yoe proposing to add an editor's note accusing the US president of creating "concentration camp-style prisons" and sending Americans to gulag-like facilities abroad without constitutional trials. Yoe also accused Israel's government, led by Netanyahu, of war crimes and crimes against humanity, referencing international arrest warrants.
Medoff strongly rejected these demands, arguing the claims were factually inaccurate and would politicize the historical work. He criticized the use of "concentration camp" terminology for US immigration centers as diminishing the suffering of Holocaust victims and called the accusation of genocide against Israel a harmful inversion of the Holocaust. Medoff described the demand to condemn Israel as "antisemitic bullying" and confirmed the book was effectively canceled by him.
The unpublished book, titled "Cartoonists Against the Holocaust," was to feature 150 political cartoons, including nine originally published in the 1940s illustrating limited contemporary knowledge of the Holocaust. Dark Horse had previously published two of Medoff's books. Medoff offered several compromises, including publishing without Yoe's name or under a different imprint, but Yoe rejected these and severed ties with the publisher.
Dark Horse's legal counsel cited financial and scheduling issues as reasons for cancellation. StandWithUs legal director Carly Gemill criticized the editor's pressure on a Holocaust scholar to condemn Israel as ironic. This incident adds to a series of similar cases since the war's outbreak, where Jewish and Israeli artists have faced cancellations or exclusion from international cultural events.
