Oliver Gill Individual Issue Study 2: Museum Backlash Against Pro-Palestinian Liberation and Examining Germany’s Unrelenting Fight Against Antisemitism

        When I first started researching cases of museums and news outlets shutting down artists, exhibitions, and editors who made pro-Palestine statements, I discovered a chilling but consistent through line accusing them of being antisemitic on account of speaking against Israel. What constitutes as antisemitic ranges from not properly speaking out against Hamas to accusing “Israel of committing a genocide in Palestine” (Greenberger) to simply verbalizing support “for Palestinian liberation” (Greenberger). Nuance has been completely thrown out the window in lieu of simply equating Palestinian support for antisemitism. 

David Velasco (Greenberger) 

        Artforum fired its top editor David Velasco “following the publication of a letter that called for a ceasefire in Gaza and Palestinian liberation” (Solomon). What I find interesting is that the company’s biggest qualm with the letter was that it “initially failed to note the October 7 Hamas attack” (Solomon) and in turn “does not acknowledge the ongoing mass hostage emergency, the historical context, and the atrocities committed in Israel on October 7, 2023—the bloodiest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust” (Greenberger). I could understand this position in a journalistic integrity sort of sense, but Artforum's subsequent actions reveal neutrality was never the goal. This started with an edit to the letter stating their “revulsion at the horrific massacres of 1400 people in Israel conducted by Hamas on October 7th” (Greenberger) before devolving into the publication of a new letter that “did refer to the Hamas attack, but it did not specifically mention the thousands of Gazans who have since been killed” (Greenberger). Artforum proudly emphasizes that they prioritize proving their awareness of the past attack on Israel’s behalf instead of confronting the ongoing genocide in Palestine. The Hamas attack was brutal, however, it was not the beginning of Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians and “to insinuate otherwise reveals a deep lack of historical knowledge, empathy for the daily lived reality of Palestinians, or both” ((@letstalkpalestine) and (@so.informed)). 

        There have been over 16,248 reported Palestinian fatalities and over 43,616 injuries in Gaza alone since October 7 (OCHA). Israel’s apartheid over Palestinians began when Israel was established as a Jewish state in 1948 (Amnesty International, 14). Then “in 1967, Israel extended this policy beyond the Green Line to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which it has occupied ever since” (14). Since then, “Israel has pursued an explicit policy of establishing and maintaining a Jewish demographic hegemony and maximizing its control over land to benefit Jewish Israelis while minimizing the number of Palestinians and restricting their rights and obstructing their ability to challenge this dispossession” (14). For decades Palestinians have undergone legal segregation, ethnic cleansing, fragmentation, denial of nationality, control of marriage, restrictions on movement, restriction on rights to political participation, dispossession of life and property, discriminatory zoning, suppression of human development, forcible transfers, administrative detention, unlawful killings, and serious injuries without any avenue of reform in sight (15-31). The consequences of viewing the Hamas attack as simply unexplainable and unjust is twofold; it undermines the history leading to the attack in order to excuse the reactionary violence against Gaza and places the blame of this violence back on the victimized Palestinians ((@letstalkpalestine) et al). 

        This reliance on separating right from wrong amidst an incredibly heated history only becomes more complicated with the generational aftermath of the Holocaust. Among larger art’s organizations, being opposed to Israel in any shape or form implies antisemitic ideals. The International Documentary Festival Amsterdam’s flip floppy responses to a pro-Palestine protest led to several artists, several of whom were Palestinian, to pull their work from the exhibition (Greenberger). The controversy sprouted when IDFA art director, “Orwa Nyrabia, was seen applauding a protest at the opening, during which attendees chanted, ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’” (Greenberger). This pro-Palestine chant has been used in protests since the 60s and “was more recently labeled ‘an aspirational call for freedom, human rights and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction or hate,’ by congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who is Palestinian American and has been censured in Congress. But some Jewish and Israeli groups have said the chant is antisemitic, claiming that it can be read as a cry for Israel’s undoing” (Greenberger). This backlash culminated in an apology issued from Nyrabia and the IDFA, referring to the chant as a “hurtful slogan” that “does not represent us, and we do not endorse it in any way” before “calling that same day for a ceasefire in Gaza” (Greenberger). Days later the festival released a new statement back tracking on their apology writing “we are not ignoring, undermining nor criminalizing any of these positions and we fully respect and acknowledge the pain that is going around and the extreme urgency of these discussions while war is still on, and innocent civilians are still dying” (Greenberger). 

The IDFA Festival (Greenberger)

        What I find most intriguing here is the fact that the festival seemed steadfast on their moral views until the accusation of antisemitism came into play. The fear of being deemed proprietors of antisemitic genocide directly led to the festival subscribing to the dangerous ideology that being pro-Palestine is inherently antisemitic. Palestinian artist Basma Alsharif stated “it seems that @idfafestival felt strong-armed into making a damaging statement that equates a call for equal rights to all people in Palestine as antisemitic” (Greenberger) along with her decision to pull her film from the festival program. Fellow Palestinian artist Jumana Manna claimed IDFA’s apology demonstrated “the McCarthy-esque reality we’re facing in Europe that obfuscates the state of apartheid in Palestine/IL and seeks to demonize and shut down solidarity with the Palestinian struggle” (Greenberger).

        I would now like to take a turn towards examining Germany’s radical hunt to shut down antisemitism amidst the Palestinian crisis, starting first with how it got to this point. Author Susan Neiman states, “Germans’ efforts to confront their country’s criminal history and to root out antisemitism have shifted from vigilance to a philosemitic McCarthyism that threatens their rich cultural life” (Neiman). Postwar Germany was seeped with an intense sense of victimhood for several decades, particularly in the West. Displays of remorse were coaxed out of necessity, evident by how “the reparations initially paid to Holocaust survivors and the State of Israel were not only grudging and meager; they were also accompanied by the assumption that the bill was thereby settled”. While West Germany resorted to ignoring Nazism, East Germany pivoted to become antifascist and denazify itself (Neiman). 

        East Germany maintained pressure against the West to “get more serious about denazifying itself”. The brunt of change, however, “was driven by West German intellectuals, church groups, and students, whose outrage at their Nazi parents and teachers made the 1960s in Berlin rather more violent than they were in Berkeley…By 1985, when President Richard von Weizsäcker gave a speech commemorating the fortieth anniversary of the war’s end, there was a nascent consensus: Germans had suffered, but others had suffered more, and their suffering was Germany’s fault”. This became the advent of a new collective identity for Germans: seeing “themselves first and foremost as perpetrators” rather than “twentieth-century victims” (Neiman). 

        In an effort to atone for their past, many Germans turned to practicing historical reckoning, remaining hypercritical of their country and insisting “that antisemitism still runs rampant”. This well-intentioned effort to repair a broken history and “root out antisemitism”, however, has devolved “from vigilance to hysteria…allegations of antisemitism, regardless of the source, serve as grounds for revoking prizes and job contracts or canceling exhibitions and performances. Although police statistics show that over 90 percent of antisemitic hate crimes are committed by white, right-wing Germans, Muslims and people of color have been the most heavily targeted by media campaigns that have cost several their jobs” (Neiman). 

        Furthermore, “non-Jewish Germans publicly accuse Jewish writers, artists, and activists of antisemitism” whilst maintaining that “a real Jew is someone whose life is constituted by the Holocaust”. Germany’s inability to shake viewing Jews through the lens of the Holocaust in turn completely taints their view of the Palestinian crisis. Germany has made claims of antisemitism against the Palestinian led “Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement” in 2019 along with distancing itself from Amnesty International’s report “Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians” (Neiman). 

Candice Breitz (Hickley)

        Now I would like to circle back to current events. The German Saarland Museum “canceled an exhibition of work by Candice Breitz, saying it would not show the art of any artist ‘who does not clearly recognize Hamas’s terror as a rupture of civilization’” (Hickley). Breitz is a Jewish artist who, contrary to the museum’s claims, “condemned Hamas loudly and unequivocally on a number of occasions” (Hickley). Here again, one’s acknowledgment of the Hamas attack has been given more importance than the outstanding brutality set forth against Palestinians. In light of the heavy backlash she received accusing her of being a Hamas lover, fascist, Jewish traitor, feminazi, and more (Breitz (@candicebreitz)), she posted the following on her Instagram:

It’s possible to reserve deep empathy for the brutally violated and murdered civilians of Israel, while holding zero regard for Netanyahu and his cynical henchmen (some of whom proudly describe themselves as racists and homophobes); politicians who casually break humanitarian law, cheer on illegal occupation and are now leading the inhumane and grotesque bombardment of Gaza. 

It’s likewise possible to support the Palestinian struggle for basic rights and human dignity—including liberation from decades of oppression—while unequivocally condemning the horrific carnage exacted on 7 October, and the cruel stranglehold that Hamas exerts on Gazan civilians (to the advantage of Israel’s sadist leaders). Hamas is not Palestine (Breitz).     

        What I find most telling is that Breitz has been unequivocally punished for expressing empathy for both Israel and Palestine almost exclusively by white men (Breitz). She has otherwise received heartwarming support across social media, but when it comes to people in power in Germany, she was ostracized. Candidly speaking, Breitz was set up to fail; there is nothing she could say that would not be met with vitriolic criticism. Being Jewish did not protect her from antisemitic claims, rather, it put a target on her back to fit an unattainable box that appeases German discomfort, guilt, and shame. Germany’s insistence to shut down pro-Palestine sentiment did not end with Breitz:

Shortly after the Hamas attack, Palestinian artist Emily Jacir said a talk she had planned to give in Berlin was canceled. This month, a German photography biennial that was being co-organized by artist Shahidul Alam was canceled because he accused Israel of committing a genocide in Palestine; the biennial said those remarks were “antisemitic.” And in Essen, the Museum Folkwang nixed a portion of an exhibition after that presentation’s curator, Anais Duplan, called for Palestinian liberation (Greenberger).

        All of these artists were set up to fail, each for slightly differing reasons, but all of whom stood their ground in the face of injustice. In a bittersweet way, these unjust cancellations highlight the strength and integrity of these artists while exposing the people pleasing ideals of the museums they were betrayed by. The reality of the matter is nuance does not stand in Germany’s interpersonal war against antisemitism. This staunch view has superseded across the world, evident by recent passing of the US bill equating anti-Zionism to antisemitism (Harb). The objective tragedy of the Holocaust has trickled down into a competition of crimes against humanity. The US has no right flaunting a flag of justice when they too turned a blind eye to the Holocaust until the attack on Pearl Harbor broke them out of their isolationist ideals (The National WWII Museum). Disingenuous guilt has tarnished many people’s basic human empathy and critical thinking skills, opting instead to abide by the feel-good mentality that at the very least they aren’t antisemitic. 

        How have things come to this? Is it really so horrible to genuinely confront one’s shame without making a big deal out of it? How blinded do you have to be to speak over and shame the very group of people you claim to feel guilty for? I can draw from my own complicated relationship of being half-Japanese, confronting the horrors enacted by and against the country. To be both a perpetrator and victim requires nuance that I argue is easier to parse through given that I was not directly affected by these events. It takes accepting that there is no easy fix, no easy answer to every truly atone for what happened. It takes exercising self-control to not speak on behalf of the very people you feel guilty for. Above all else, it just takes giving people a chance and genuinely listening to what they have to say. 

        What can I as an individual artist with a single voice do to spark tangible change and not turn a blind eye to the horrors happening daily to people; genuine, living, breathing people with a life and things they love and aspirations they are working towards? What steps can we take to actually change the minds of these museums who would rather practice self-preservation than stand up for what is right? Artists standing firm in their beliefs amidst intentionally or unintentionally having their work pulled is a notable first step. These cases demonstrate conflict and a difference in opinion that can hopefully urge people in positions of power to reconsider their worldview. News articles and posts to social media also means new eyes on these situations. I can only hope these dialogues help someone, anyone, to reflect on their prejudices and reconsider what they believe to be true.

Bibliography

Breitz, Candice (@candicebreitz). “At a time when the death toll for civilians in Israel/Palestine is swiftly climbing…” October 30, 2023. https://www.instagram.com/p/CzB_FOCI4Jv/?hl=en&img_index=1.

“The Great Debate.” The National WWII Museum | New Orleans, July 11, 2018. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/great-debate. 

Greenberger, Alex. “Artforum Fires Editor David Velasco after Publication of Letter about Ceasefire in Gaza.” ARTnews, October 27, 2023. https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/artforum-fires-david-velasco-gaza-ceasefire-letter-1234685001/. 

Greenberger, Alex. “Artists Pull out of Dutch Film Festival after Palestine Protest Chant Is Labeled a ‘Hurtful Slogan.’” ARTnews, November 14, 2023. https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/artists-pull-out-idfa-film-festival-palestine-protest-chant-1234686794/. 

Greenberger, Alex. “German Museum Cancels Candice Breitz Exhibition after ‘Controversial Statements’ on Gaza.” ARTnews, November 28, 2023. https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/candice-breitz-german-musuem-canceled-show-gaza-statements-1234687722/. 

Harb, Ali. “‘Anti-Zionism Is Antisemitism,’ US House Asserts in ‘Dangerous’ Resolution.” Al Jazeera, December 6, 2023. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/6/anti-zionism-is-antisemitism-us-house-asserts-in-dangerous-resolution. 

Hickley, Catherine. “Candice Breitz Exhibition in Germany is Cancelled over Her Middle East Views.” The Art Newspaper, November 29, 2023. https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/11/29/candice-breitz-exhibition-in-germany-is-cancelled-over-her-middle-east-views. 

“Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel - Reported Impact: Day 60.” OCHA, December 5, 2023. https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-60. 

“Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians: Cruel System of Dominion and Crime Against Humanity.” Amnesty International (2022): 14-31. Accessed December 9, 2023. https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/5141/2022/en/?utm_source=annual_report&utm_medium=epub&utm_campaign=2021.

(@letstalkpalestine) and (@so.informed). “Helpful Context for Frustrating Conversations about Gaza…” November 23, 2023. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cz_fDWKuFXd/?hl=en&img_index=1.

Neiman, Susan. “Historical Reckoning Gone Haywire.” The New York Review, October 9, 2023. https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/10/19/historical-reckoning-gone-haywire-germany-susan-neiman/?lp_txn_id=1510828. 

Solomon, Tessa. “In Open Letter, Artists Accuse Western Museums of ‘Silencing and Stigmatizing’ Palestinian Voices.” ARTnews, December 1, 2023. https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/artists-accuse-western-museums-censorship-palestine-open-letter-1234688256/.