“Israel overtly uses culture as a form of propaganda to whitewash or justify its regime of occupation, settler-colonialism, and apartheid over the Palestinian people. Therefore I do not wish to be part of this exhibition, and I asked the museum to take my artwork off the exhibition.”.........
So: on the one hand, it's his work, he has the right to request the gallery take it down. They should respect his wishes. The people attacking the exhibition ... well, they're wrong.
BTW, so is he. He is making a statement about people who work in the arts in Israel and artists that I think is a lie. He's welcome to feel it. I will tell him he's wrong.
Does the state in many countries use art for propaganda? Sure. Are all artists complicit in that activity? We could talk about the U.S. - we both know this is not true - it's not different in Israel.
This is why I oppose the academic and cultural boycott of Israel. I find it fascinating that occasionally the same people will say the U.S. should not boycott artists from Cuba, then turn around and say they should boycott artists from Israel. I never see any consistency in their logic. Obviously, not all artists in Cuba are complicit with the regime. Not all artists in Israel are fans of Netanyahu.
In fact, all the ones I know, are not.
Quote:
I think this ideological effort to equate anti-Semitism with much-needed critiques of the policies and practices of the state of Israel and the expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian people should be revealed for what it is. And I am hoping that we will hear more Jewish people speaking out. I know that Jewish Voice for Peace has done an amazing job over the last period, and I’ve done work with JVP. But I think this is a period when, as Jews were the first white people to step up during the civil rights era, to speak out against racism, I think that we need to engage in the kind of conversation that will reveal the true meaning of anti-Semitism and help us to extricate ourselves from this McCarthyite effort to equate boycott strategies and solidarity strategies with anti-Semitism..........
So I will say I often find this puzzling. Many people who call themselves progressives would not agree that white people should dictate to black people what black people call racism.
Yet, they as non-Jews feel they have the right to tell Jews what we can and can't call anti-Semitism. Again, where is this consistency?
BTW, I do not think Angela Davis should have not received that award. On the other hand, she and the British Labour Party do not have the right to tell me what I should view as anti-Semitism. I accept the IHRA definition. Why shouldn't I? Why do other people have the right to dictate to me that I shouldn't?
Of course all criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitic. On the other hand, if you're going to bullshit me that Alice Walker is "merely" "anti-Zionist" when it's clear she's far more, you are bullshitting me. And I don't care if you think doing this is progressive - it's not.
I don't like Santa Claus tests. So I'm a naughty Jew if I don't agree with JVP's view on anti-Semitism. You know what? Fuck them. I don't. I accept the IHRA's definition. Jeremy Corbyn and the British Labour Party should too.