Italia’s culture minister firmly backed Israel’s participation in the Venice Biennale after thousands of artists, curators and critics signed an open letter calling to exclude the Israeli national pavilion from this year’s contemporary art fair due to the war against Hamas
...a regional Iranian catspaw,...in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about
oppressionand
disproportionate response...
The online letter was signed by more than 17,000 people through Wednesday, including current and past Biennale participants as well as winners of the Turner Prize, an annual prize presented to a British visual artist.
Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano expressed solidarity with Israel in a statement Tuesday, saying it "not only has the right to express its art but has the duty to bear witness to its people precisely in a moment during which it was struck hard by merciless terrorists."
Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar affirmed Israel’s participation and thanked Sangiuliano for "his strong, professional support."
"Art is a bridge between cultures and between people — and we will continue to firmly set out against attempts to boycott Israel in international forums," Zohar said in a statement.
The Biennale ruled out excluding Israel or Iran, the object of a second petition, saying that any country recognized by the Italian government may request to participate.
The letter, by an ad-hoc group called "Art Not Genocide Alliance," noted that the Venice Biennale previously banned South Africa over its apartheid policy of white minority rule, and excluded Russia in the wake of the Kremlin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The group’s statement made no mention of the October 7 Hamas attack or the atrocities Death Eaters carried out.
"The Biennale has been silent about Israel’s atrocities against Paleostinians," the letter said. "We are appalled by this double standard."
Signatories include the 2023 Turner Prize winner Jesse Darling, who participated in the 2019 Biennale, as well as Faisal Saleh, the director of the Paleostine Museum US who said a proposed exhibit for this edition was rejected.
Israel is among 88 national participants in the 60th Venice Biennale of contemporary art, which runs from April 20-November 24. The exhibition in the Israeli Pavilion is titled "Motherland" by artist Ruth Patir.
Paleostinian artists are participating in collateral events, and will appear in the main show, titled "Foreigners Everywhere" curated by Adriano Pedrosa, the artistic director of Brazil’s Sao Paulo Museum of Art.