Israel's ambassador to Sweden Zvi Mazel (above) called the piece of art depicting a female Palestinian suicide bomber a 'monstrosity.' (Haaretz Archive/AP)
Posted on 01/17/2004 12:12:48 PM PST by KQQL
Sweden on Monday will summon Israeli Ambassador Zvi Mazel to explain his actions Friday when he intentionally damaged a piece of art depicting a Palestinian suicide bomber that was displayed at a Stockholm museum.
Click for text accompanying artwork
"We will ask him to explain and from our side we will maintain that it is unacceptable to destroy works of art in this way," Swedish Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Anna Larsson said Saturday.
The artwork, entitled "Snow White and the Madness of Truth," consisted of a rectangular basin filled with red water on which floated a boat carrying a portrait of Islamic Jihad suicide bomber Hanadi Jaradat, who killed herself and 21 others in an attack at the Maxim restaurant in Haifa on October 4.
Video footage showed Mazel disconnecting electrical cables to spotlights that surrounded the work Mazel then shoved a spotlight into the basin.
It also shows one of the artists who created the piece, Dror Feiler - an Israeli who resides in Sweden -telling Mazel, "What you're doing here is exactly what you're doing in Nablus and Tul Karm."
"I had all the right in the world to act as I did," Mazel told Reuters in an interview.
Ambassador Mazel was among the guests at the opening of the Historical Museum's art exhibition ahead of an international anti-genocide conference to be held in Stockholm from January 26 to 28.
"This was not a piece of art," Mazel said. "It was a monstrosity. An obscene distortion of reality."
Israel on Saturday demanded that Sweden remove the artwork. Deputy Director General for Western Europe at the Foreign Ministry, Ran Curiel, told Sweden's ambassador to Israel that Jerusalem views his country as responsible for the artwork, and "would not let [Sweden] hide behind claims of freedom of expression for actions which justify terror attacks against Israelis."
The Foreign Ministry said that the display was a violation of understandings between Israel and Sweden, and that the Swedish government had promised not to link the conference with the Middle East conflict.
"The exhibit that glorified the actions of a suicide bomber who murdered 22 people is a violation of that understanding, and if it is not removed, Israel will reconsider its participation in the conference," the ministry said.
Mazel told Haaretz that he didn't cut the electrical wires or rip them, but merely unplugged the three electrical projectors that provided lighting to the display. He said he had decided on this act of protest in advance after reading about the exhibition in the newspapers.
"I couldn't stand by and see how an exhibition titled 'making a difference' and dealing with the prevention of genocide, would display an artwork with a photograph of a murderer who killed 21 human beings. It was a shock for me," Mazel said, adding that he asked the exhibition's director to remove the artwork, and after he was turned down decided to disconnect the projectors.
The piece was created by Feiler and Gunilla Skold Feiler, his Swedish wife. Feiler, who described the ambassador's actions as "vandalism," was to play his saxaphone at the exhibition, but announced that he would not perform as long as Mazel was present, Israel Radio reported. Museum director Kristian Berg then requested that Mazel leave, and escorted him out of the exhibition hall.
"The artwork was supposed to call attention to how weak people left alone can be capable of horrible things," said Feiler. He went on to say that Mazel "tried to stop free speech and free artistic expression from being carried out in Sweden."
Berg said he realized the installation may have been emotional for Mazel, but that destroying art was unacceptable. "If you don't like what you see, you can leave the premises," he said.
Israel Radio reported that the genocide exhibit included 20 pieces of art from artists around the world. Three works were selected from Israel, all of which presented the conflict from a Palestinian point-of-view, while a pro-Israel piece of art was excluded following diplomatic pressure from Syria.
Israel's ambassador to Sweden Zvi Mazel (above) called the piece of art depicting a female Palestinian suicide bomber a 'monstrosity.' (Haaretz Archive/AP)
Israel's ambassador to Sweden Zvi Mazel (above) called the piece of art depicting a female Palestinian suicide bomber a 'monstrosity.' (Haaretz Archive/AP)
Mr. Mazel showed commendable restraint.
The so-called art exhibit was the work of an Israeli, Dror Feiler, and his Swedish wife. The couple resides in Sweden.
http://israelnn.com/news.php3?id=56314
Oh...right...never.
How many more suicide bombings will such an exhibit provoke? Sounds to me like the not-so-hidden message is "Suicide bombings float your boat."
I can't find it in my heart to condemn the ambassador. What an in-your-face insult to the Israeli people.
YEP........He's no RUDY !
Well that should be easy enough...
You chose to set up a shrine to glorify a mass murderer. You thought you would get away with it by calling it "art"
However I saw through it, as any right thinking person would, and did my best to destroy it.
That should do it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.