Bob Mankoff, New Yorker Cartoon Editor, Picks His Favorite Jewish Cartoons

Last week JTA profiled Bob Mankoff, retiring cartoon editor at The New Yorker, and asked him to pick his favorite Jewish-themed cartoons from over the years, and he was happy to oblige.

As Gabe Friedman wrote for JTA,

Bob Mankoff has been the cartoon editor at The New Yorker for 20 years. But he’s been a Jew for 72.

The celebrated cartoonist, who is stepping down from his prestigious perch in May, has therefore had a long time to formulate his thoughts on Judaism and Jewish humor. For example, he once wrote an essay about how Jews have become the “People of the Joke,” as opposed to the “People of the Book.”

“The Jews of the Bible aren’t funny,” he told JTA. “[Judaism] is a decent first draft of how to behave. It’s a really good try for 4,000 years ago.”

In this video clip from a Moment magazine symposium, Mankoff shares his observations on Jewish humor. His seven favorite Jewish cartoons appear below the video.

Enjoy!

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