Cecilie Surasky at MuzzleWatch writes:
Berkeley, CA’s Middle East Children’s Alliance broke the news yesterday that the exhibit of children’s artwork from Gaza that they had worked on for months with Oakland’s Children’s Museum of Art was suddenly canceled by the board before the planned September 24 opening reception. The show featured drawings by children about Israel’s infamous Operation Cast Lead, the military assault of December 2008-January 2009 that led to the deaths of some 1,400 Palestinians, over 300 of them children.
(Check regularly at mecaforpeace.org for updates and planned actions- they won’t be taking this lying down.)
MECA said in a statement:
The Museum of Children’s Art in Oakland (MOCHA) has decided to cancel an exhibit of art by Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip. The Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA), which was partnering with MOCHA to present the exhibit, was informed of the decision by the Museum’s board president on Thursday, September 8, 2011. For several months, MECA and the museum had been working together on the exhibit, which is titled “A Child’s View From Gaza.”
MECA has learned that there was a concerted effort by pro-Israel organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area to pressure the museum to reverse its decision to display Palestinian children’s art.
Barbara Lubin, the Executive Director of MECA, expressed her dismay that the museum decided to censor this exhibit in contradiction of its mission “to ensure that the arts are a fundamental part of the lives of all children.”
“We understand all too well the enormous pressure that the museum came under. But who wins? The museum doesn’t win. MECA doesn’t win. The people of the Bay Area don’t win. Our basic constitutional freedom of speech loses. The children in Gaza lose,” she said.
“The only winners here are those who spend millions of dollars censoring any criticism of Israel and silencing the voices of children who live every day under military siege and occupation.”
More artwork can be viewed at the Middle East Children’s Alliance Facebook page.
I am trying to figure out why the muzzle is Zionism’s propaganda weapon of choice. Is that something they learnt from their Nazi oppressors? Or is it because Israel is still a young state, and Jews are not yet fully conversant with democracy? Or, more likely, is this a way of trying to identify as Middle Easterners — the Mubarak kind, that is.
Or am I confusing Jews with Israelis?
On a related matter, here’s some cheerful news:
ILEANA-ROS-LEHTINEN in the Miami Herald:
“I will soon introduce the United Nations Transparency, Accountability, and Reform Act, which will reflect the executive branch’s previous successful policies by cutting off U.S. contributions to any UN entity that grants membership or any other upgraded status to the Palestinian observer mission. This legislation will also leverage U.S. taxpayer dollars to make sure they do not fund biased or wasteful UN activities, and to achieve other much-needed reforms that will make the UN more transparent, accountable, objective, and effective.”
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/08/27/v-print/2377714/to-protect-israel-at-un-money.html#ixzz1XkhsEbf4
If you can’t intimidate with threats, try bribery and blackmail.
So, like the rest of the Republicans and many Democrats, she would rather fund & support the Israeli Government, but wants to cut or eliminate the infrastructure within the United States. As far as I’m concerned, if these members are elected to represent the people of the U.S.A., then that’s what they should be doing, not playing sycophantic games supporting other countries, especially ones that practice apartheid as Israel is doing today. She is just as morally corrupt as they are. What an embarrassment this present crop of politicians are to the country, presenting a bigoted face to the world.
The artwork is very moving and I’m a believer in art as therapy – I will support any effort to have the exhibition of Palestinian children’s view of ‘ Cast Lead Dreidel’ shown and appreciated by those who care about actual human children over racist ideology.
@Delia R.: I have no idea what you’re trying to say, but there is no way in hell I’d even read the Israel First hasbara that Ros Lehtinen routinely spews, her ugly obnoxious views permeates Congress with a stench powerful enough to make a skunk gag.
Just heard about this on OPB (oregon public broadcasting) so sorry that this project has been gagged by the manipulation of jewish fear mongers.
I hope someone in SF opens their doors to this event..could these artworks be auctioned off? Or copied and auctioned/sold? I have only see a few examples but would be proud to support an effort to keep these children’s voices alive.
Peace,
j.maloney