Israeli College’s Art Exhibit Promotes Terrorism, Critics Say
by JNS.org
JNS.org – Students, organizations, and members of Knesset are fuming after Sapir Academic College in the southern Israeli city of Sderot allowed the display of an exhibition in its art school’s gallery that critics feel promotes the massacre of Jews and terrorism.
The exhibition, called “The Power of the Word,” includes three hamsas (palm-shaped amulets popular throughout the Middle East) created by artist Gad Wellnitz and decorated with the words “ISIS,” “Slaughter the Jews,” and “In blood and fire we will redeem Palestine.”
The exhibition also features a picture by artist David Riv in which the words “Jerusalem of Gold” are printed with the words “Jerusalem of Shit,” alongside images of Jews praying at the Western Wall.
Before the exhibition was opened on Tuesday, Likud MK Danny Danon approached Sapir College President Omri Yadlin and said, “It is shocking to see an academic institution in Israel displaying exhibitions that promote terrorism and killing Jews.”
The advocacy organization Im Tirtzu also approached Yadlin in an effort to stop the exhibition. “We are again bearing witness to anti-Zionist propaganda sponsored by academia under the guise of pluralism,” said Im Tirtzu’s director, Matan Peleg.
Sapir College defended the exhibition, saying it “includes works by some of the best artists in Israel, including Israel Prize laureates whose works have received institutional, public and governmental recognition.”