The Association for Civil Rights in Israel is sponsoring a poster competition to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions. The winner of the contest will be announced on December 10th, International Human Rights Day. The graphic art is extraordinary and confronts Israel’s human rights situation head on.
ACRI joined together with the City of Holon to exhibit some of the posters outdoors and it stirred great controversy among those who believe that discussing these issues can only damage Israel. The right-wing group, If You Will It, complained to the Israeli government and asked it to investigate whether the city exhibit was mounted with state funds. It also demanded the firing of any employees who helped organize the exhibition.
This is the typical extreme nationalist backlash against anything that smacks of leftist “defeatism.” Among the interesting reasons for fearing the exhibit’s message:
There is no need to point out that the purpose of this exhibit is to continue the demonization of the IDF…through its representation as cruel and immoral in order to lay the groundwork for those elements in Israel and abroad pursuing Israeli officers for the purpose of bringing them to justice [for war crimes].
Several posters stand out for varying reasons. One titled, You Don’t See It with Your Own Eyes? (the English translation on the poster isn’t precise) comments on the Gaza war and Occupation in general. Graphically, it mimics a vision chart with numbers displaying on each line along with text, as each line gets progressively smaller. The top line displays the number of agreements Israel has signed; next the number of Gaza war dead; next the number of civilian dead; then the length of the wall; number of checkpoints; number of years the Geneva Conventions have existed; the number of Conventions; and finally the number of peoples (2); and conflicts (1).
Another displays three “windows” through which you see an idyllic rural image with the caption, “there are those who gaze out on pastoral landscape;” and an urban image, “others view urban landscape;” and finally a solid graffiti-strewn image of the Separate Wall, “and those who see nothing.”
This too is a testament to power of art to “see” the social landscape in the way that the average Israeli almost never does. And that is why the Israeli right seeks to demonize this exhibit. It is dangerous to the equilibrium of the Israeli public. The current government needs to maintain an image of an Israel that is secure, safe, and stable. That image is what allows Israel to continue to defy international law and bodies, and the power of the U.S., EU and other governments insisting that it return to 1967 boundaries and recognize a Palestinian state. Anything that threatens this slumber into which Israelis have slipped is a danger.
H/t to Didi Remez for bringing this story to my attention and helping me find the poster images.
I have stolen your second photo for my own blog at
link to richard-smalliislandnotessuccessor.blogspot.com
I hope you don’t mind too much.
I agree with both previous posters, but being a pessimist, incline more towards Mary’s point of view.
I doubt if many Israelis, apart from young, bullying soldiers, and bullying settlers, has ever even met a Palestiinian. The gap between them is vast.
I have acquaintances with both Palestinians and Israelis, and for them, the gap is quite huge, especially since the wall was erected around Bethlehem. Two separate worlds – and so easy to dehumanize each other as a result.
Thanks for writing about this, Richard, a very positive initiative. One can not legislate away attitudes, only a cultural shift can do that, and projects like this go towards changing attitudes.
It seems to me that from my acquaintances with Israelis, they are quite isolated from their Palestinian neighbors, both physically, culturally and artistically. I sincerely hope this exhibit enlightens some of them.