Bomber art attack furore spreads
Mujahid
Israel's ambassador to Sweden has been questioned about attacking an
artwork showing a Palestinian suicide bomber.
The envoy, Zvi Mazel, is unrepentant, calling the work a "call to
genocide" but the Swedish Government says his actions are
"unacceptable".
Meanwhile the artistic director of the museum, which is keeping the
work on display, has reportedly been attacked.
Artist Dror Feiler, who is also said to have been threatened, said the
envoy's actions made reconciliation harder.
He told the BBC World Service that his work was "absolutely not" a
glorification of suicide bombers as had been claimed and criticised Mr
Mazel for a "stupid act".
"[My wife] came running to tell me... the ambassador was destroying
our installation," the Israeli-born artist told the World Today
programme.
"When I got there, I could see he had disconnected some of the
lights."
Mr Feiler said he tried to persuade the ambassador to read the
accompanying text which explained how innocent people had been killed
in the attack by the bomber whose photograph he had used, but had been
rebuffed.
Anti-genocide
The artwork, Snow White and the Madness of Truth, is included in the
"Making Differences" exhibition accompanying an upcoming international
anti-genocide conference hosted by the Swedish Government.
It consists of a boat carrying a photograph of female suicide bomber
Hanadi Jaradat, floating in a pool of red liquid. The exhibit is
accompanied by the JS Bach cantata My Heart Is Swimming In Blood.
Jaradat, a 29-year-old trainee lawyer, killed at least 21 people in a
Haifa restaurant in October, one of the bloodiest of the suicide
bombings by Palestinian militants.
Ambassador Mazel was summoned to the Swedish foreign office on Monday
to account for his actions, which led to him being thrown out of the
museum.
But he said he did not apologise, explaining that he "acted on behalf
of my feelings and couldn't have reacted in any other way", quoted by
the Associated Press news agency.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon praised the ambassador's
actions, saying that anti-Semitism was such a problem "it would have
been forbidden not to have acted on the spot".
Mr Mazel said he was surprised that the museum was continuing to
exhibit the work.
E-mailed threats
Danish radio reported that two of the museum's top staff as well as
the artist had received threats.
It said the artistic director, Thomas Nordanstand, alone had received
400 e-mails about the installation, most of them abusive and one
containing a death threat.
Mr Nordanstand was also shoved down the museum's steps as he smoked a
cigarette outside the building on Sunday but managed to grab a rail to
break his fall, the radio said.
Sweden's Ambassador to Israel, Robert Rydberg, said there had been "a
misinterpretation of a piece of art which may very well be in bad
taste, very bad taste, but which is not a justification of suicide
bombers".
In a separate development, Mr Mazel confirmed on Monday that Israel
would be vacating the building that houses its embassy in Stockholm
after 50 years, Israeli radio reported.
He said the building's owners thought Israel's presence was a security
risk.
Mitch Farmer
wrote:
One time I went to the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art here in San
Diego only to find that it appeared to be undergoing some sort of
renovation. There was a large pile of dirt in the center of one room,
with a wheel-barrow sitting against the mound of dirt, upside down.
Also, there was a yellow tape barrier surrounding the dirt that read
"under construction" along with a trash can filled with assorted
debris and a shovel firmly planted in the center of the pile.
It wasn't until I walked around to the other side that I realized this
area was not undergoing renovation, but was in fact, an art exhibit.
It was entitled something truly brilliant like "Under Construction",
and I recall that everyone walking past it just started laughing.
Looks to me like the same "artist" is responsible for the absurd
exhibit in Sweden.
It wouldn't surprise me if both exhibits were funded publicly in some
manner either.