Posted on 01/19/2004 11:00:56 AM PST by SJackson
Is there an inviolable sanctity to art that transcends our mundane existence and becomes totally removed from the political realities that shape our lives? Do the normal rules governing freedom of expression expand to include statements so provocative that they would be considered in the worst taste in any other context? To go back to my first question, is art above and divorced from politics?
Deputy Knesset Speaker Mohammed Barakeh seems to think so. The most recent example of a growing trend in worldwide anti-Semitism now centers on the actions of Israeli Ambassador to Sweden Tzvi Maz’el, who attempted to disrupt the presentation of a new work equating the death of terrorist Hanadi Jaradat with the twenty one innocent Jews that she brutally murdered. MK Barakeh, upon hearing of the action taken by Ambassador Maz’el, tried to arouse the indignation of the Israeli art community and called the position taken by the Ambassador, and by extension the Israeli government backing him, “unacceptable”. He stated that it was an attack upon art.
It boggles the mind that the moment in which an opinion is publicized through the medium of art, it becomes sacrosanct, irregardless of the actual content being conveyed. Of course, the defense of human life and the protection of the ideals of our common humanity must transcend art. Were this exhibit to be one in which Meir Kahane were glorified, our dear Mr. Barakeh would be up in arms yelling about incitement. There is a double standard at work here that has nothing to do with the artistic expression of the human experience. People are sacred, art, when it contravenes this basic principle of our philosophy, is not.
The fact is, the piece in question attempts to dehumanize the victims of terror by comparing them to a killer who has, by virtue of her acts, given up her own humanity. The loss is not the same. The value of an innocent life taken in violence is incalculably more valuable than that of the monster who took it before its time.
Art is not to be divorced from politics, and a statement of hatred and violence does not gain credibility or acceptability by being conveyed through “art”. Furthermore, by allowing such a work to be displayed, Sweden has violated the terms of a compact that it had made with Israel, not to put such Goebbelsesque imagery on display.
However, that is not the most disturbing aspect of this incident. It is already commonly known that there is a rapid emergence of dormant anti-Semitic tendencies in Europe; yet, while Israel battles such glorification of Jewish murder abroad, it still does not do so at home - by destroying the very propaganda machine that breeds terrorists in the first place. Furthermore, by allowing Arabs in the Knesset who are outspokenly pro-incitement, as evidenced by MK Barakeh’s words, we allow a viper in our midst. One day this snake shall strike, and we shall all be the worse off for it. For now, it is not bad “enough” for us to realize the danger, but then again, the Jew is, always has been, and will continue to be, a political ostrich.
I, for one, applaud the actions taken by our holy Jewish brother in Sweden, and I urge the rest of our leadership to follow suit. They must not stop at merely supporting his actions, but must themselves sponsor and promote such methods by all of their colleagues. It must become the official policy of the government of the State of Israel to fight against incitement, no matter where it is found, and to take active steps to fight it. Jewish life is sacred and no action is forbidden in the fight to preserve it.
There are three things which the Torah prohibits in the course of saving a Jewish life. One is forbidden to worship idols, to take part in sexual perversion, or to take part in murder (but not the actual act of killing, mind you, but murder - a fine and important distinction). The destruction of art is nowhere to be found on this list, and thus does not take precedence over human life. The continuation of life is first and foremost ensured by the suppression of incitement.
In this vein, I demand of my government that it step up and take Ambassador Maz’el’s actions to their logical conclusion and destroy the mass media infrastructure of the Palestinian Authority, once and for all.
No. I've been lurking (and snickering) on some of the threads.
Yes, this would be a great follow up performance. It would really make the point clear.
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