California exhibition of war art by Gaza children cancelled as 'not appropriate'

(Middle East Children's Alliance staff members Ziad Abbas, Leena Al-Arian (center) and Barbara Lubin look over artwork. pic: Noah Berger / Special to San Francisco Chronicle)
An exhibition of drawings and paintings created by Palestinian children scheduled to open Sept 24 at Oakland's Museum of Children's Art has been canceled.

The show, which was to run until Nov. 13, included harrowing images of bloodshed and loss during the Israeli bombing of Gaza, known as Operation Cast Lead, which began in 2008. In one drawing, a little girl with a bandage on her head stares out from behind prison bars. In another, tanks roll through a burning town as women wail and children weep.

These and other artwork created by Palestinian children ages 6-14 were to have been included in "A Child's View of Gaza," which was to open with a day of cartooning workshops and poetry readings.

Hilmon Sorey, chairman of MOCHA's board of directors wrote in a statement that while the museum supports art that fosters "insight and understanding," an exhibit of art about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was "not appropriate for an open gallery accessible by all children."

The museum has previously shown art created by children during conflict, including images depicting the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

And it hasn't shied away from exploring violence in Oakland. But Sorey said in an interview that the board felt the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is too divisive an issue.

"This wasn't something we felt as a board that the organization could responsibly exhibit," he said. The museum has no guidelines or policy on what it deems
appropriate for exhibition. Almost all artwork shown at MOCHA is by children.

Sorey also said that some community members had raised concerns about the exhibit but would not elaborate further.

The decision to cancel the show, reached at a museum board meeting just two weeks before the exhibition's opening, has left organizers stunned.

"I was sad. Shocked," said Susan Johnson when she learned the exhibit had been shelved. more

Comments

'Coronavirus-free' Gaza prepares for the worst

Until now, the besieged Gaza Strip has stayed free of the novel coronavirus spreading across the world. As the Gaza Strip has been under a stringent Israeli-led blockade for nearly 13 years, the spread of the coronavirus - officially known as COVID-19 - has become the topic of discussion for many Palestinians, with some joking that the blockade was preventing them from being exposed.But as authorities in the coastal Palestinian enclave gear up to contain any potential outbreak, serious questions have arisen about the risks and implications of such a scenario. But given its already difficult humanitarian situation and high population density, an outbreak in the Gaza Strip could prove to be catastrophic, health officials have warned. "If the virus enters Gaza and spreads, it will get out of hand," Gaza Ministry of Health spokesperson Majdi Thuhair told Middle East Eye, as he explained that a severe shortage of resources and personnel would make it near impossible

Boycott of New York diamond dealer launched to protest settlement construction

Members of Adalah NY call for boycott of Leviev for its crimes against Palestinians and South Africans New York, NY, May 9 – On the day before Mother’s Day, 40 New York human rights advocates gathered at the Leviev jewelry store on Madison Avenue and called on throngs of weekend Madison Avenue shoppers to boycott Israeli diamond mogul Lev Leviev over his companies’ construction of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land in West Bank villages including Bil’in and Jayyous. Mother’s Day is one of the biggest jewelry shopping periods in the US annually. The New York protest came as controversy is growing in Norway over Norwegian government investments in Leviev’s company Africa-Israel . The New York protesters also commemorated Bassem Abu Rahma from Bil’in who was shot to death by Israeli soldiers last month during a peaceful protest against the construction on Bil’in’s land of Israel’s wall and of the Mattityahu East settlement by a Leviev company. Thanks to vivapalestina.us (not co

Support striking Palestinian quarry workers demanding their rights from Israeli employer

On 16 June, 35 Palestinian workers at Salit Quarries in Mishor Adumim (in area C, east of Jerusalem, in the Occupied West Bank) began a strike. The workers, organized with the independent union WAC-Ma'an, are demanding an end to exploitation and humiliation, and insist on signing a first collective agreement. Salit Quarries’ main customer is Readymix Industries (Israel). The total reliance of Salit Quarry on Readymix as their biggest and by far the most important customer puts responsibility on Readymix to make sure that their clients abides by labour laws and safeguards elementary rights for the workers of Salit. We call upon Readymix to urge the Salit management to terminate this unnecessary strike by signing the collective agreement with the workers and WAC-Ma’an. Click this protest link to send your message. The text of the message is as follows: I write to you to express my grave concern about the failure of Salit management to sign a collective agreement with the workers of

Search iGaza