Khalil Bendib (born

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

) is an

Algerian American Algerian Americans are Americans who are of Algerian descent or Algerians who have American citizenship. According to the 2000 United States Census, there are over 8,000 Americans of Algerian descent. After Algeria's war of independence, which e ...

fine artist In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork. ...

and

political cartoonist An editorial cartoonist, also known as a political cartoonist, is an artist who draws editorial cartoons that contain some level of political or social commentary. Their cartoons are used to convey and question an aspect of daily news or curren ...

. Born during the

Algerian revolution The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

, Bendib spent 3 years in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

before returning to Algeria aged 6. After receiving his bachelor's degree in Algiers, he left

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

at the age of 20. He currently resides in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

. Bendib became a professional political cartoonist and

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

ceramicist Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take forms including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is one of the visual arts. Whi ...

after earning his master's degree at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

in 1982. His early political cartoons were published in the USC

Daily Trojan The ''Daily Trojan'', or "DT," is the student newspaper of the University of Southern California. The newspaper is a forum for student expression and is written, edited, and managed by university students. The paper is intended to inform USC s ...

newspaper. In 1995, Bendib resigned a position he had held working for Gannett Newspapers (based at the ''

San Bernardino Sun ''The San Bernardino Sun'' is a paid daily newspaper in San Bernardino County. Founded in 1894, it has significant circulation in neighboring Riverside County, and serves most of the Inland Empire in Southern California, with a circulation area s ...

''). Largely utilizing the internet, Bendib now distributes his

political cartoons A political cartoon, a form of editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically combine ...

independently to alternative media outlets outside of the corporate mainstream media. By August 2007, when his first book, ''Mission Accomplished: Wicked Cartoons by America's Most Wanted Political Cartoonist,'' was published, His work has been featured by the

Institute for Policy Studies The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) is an American progressive think tank started in 1963 that is based in Washington, D.C. It was directed by John Cavanagh from 1998 to 2021. In 2021 Tope Folarin was announced as new Executive Director. ...

on its web site. In addition to his work as a cartoonist, Bendib also co-hosts a weekly one-hour radio program called
Voices of the Middle East and North Africa
' on

Pacifica Radio Pacifica may refer to: Art * ''Pacifica'' (statue), a 1938 statue by Ralph Stackpole for the Golden Gate International Exposition Places * Pacifica, California, a city in the United States ** Pacifica Pier, a fishing pier * Pacifica, a conceiv ...

station

KPFA KPFA (94.1 FM) is an American listener-funded talk radio and music radio station located in Berkeley, California, broadcasting to the San Francisco Bay Area. KPFA airs public news, public affairs, talk, and music programming. The station sign ...

(94.1 FM), in Berkeley, California. He also continues to exhibit his sculptures and ceramic

In 2008, Bendib ran a spoof campaign for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

, claiming to be the first Muslim-American candidate. However, Randall A. Venson, an actual candidate, preceded him in 2000.

Bibliography

* ''Mission Accomplished: Wicked Cartoons by America's Most Wanted Political Cartoonist,'' Olive Branch Press/

Interlink Books Interlink Publishing is an independent publishing house, founded in 1987 and based in Northampton, Massachusetts, USA. , it published an average of 90 books a year and had 800 titles in print. Overview The company specializes in publishing in the ...

, 2007 * ''Verax: The True History of Whistleblowers, Drone Warfare, and Mass Surveillance: A Graphic Novel,'' (with Pratap Chatterjee) Metropolitan Books, 2017 * ''It Became Necessary to Destroy the Planet in Order to Save It!: Truly Subversive Editorial Cartoons,'' Plan 9 Publishing, 2003

References

External links

Khalil Bendib's political cartoons website

Studio Bendib

Mission Accomplished

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070907170110/http://www.kpfa.org/voicesofthemiddleeast/ KPFA Voices of the Middle East {{DEFAULTSORT:Bendib, Khalil Anti-Zionism in the United States American editorial cartoonists American people of Algerian descent Algerian emigrants to the United States American Muslims Algerian cartoonists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) University of Southern California alumni Artists from Berkeley, California Sculptors from California