Rabbis sport ‘Free Palestine’ badges for Gaza art show
Published: 31 July, 2010
by PETER GRUNER
TWO Hasidic rabbis sporting “Free Palestine” badges were among visitors at the opening in Islington on Monday of a remarkable exhibition of paintings smuggled out from war-ravaged Gaza.
Eleazer Hochhauser and Abraham Rosenberger, from an orthodox Jewish community in Stamford Hill, joined Islington North Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn and Labour council leader Catherine West at the packed event. The exhibition is being held until the end of the month at the Islington Assembly Hall next door to the Town Hall in Upper Street.
Rabbi Hochhauser said: “This is a very moving exhibition. The paintings are very vivid and depict the terrible way the Palestinians in Gaza have been treated by the Israelis. We want to show our solidarity with the Palestinians at this bad time.
“The Israeli Zionists may think they are speaking on behalf of Jewish people the world over. They are definitely not speaking for us.”
More than 40 exhibits are on show for the first time in Britain by a new collective of 10 Palestinian war artists, the majority of them women.
The work depicts last year’s bombing of Gaza by Israel, in which 1,400 people died, including 400 children. Some of the paintings, showing the haunted and frightened faces of Palestinians, had to be smuggled out of the beleaguered area.
Another guest at the event, Alex Harrison, spoke about how she had joined the recent Free Gaza flotilla with the aim of bringing more Palestinian art out. The ships were halted in mid-ocean and nine Turkish campaigners were killed by Israeli forces.
“I would love to meet these artists but despite seven attempts, I’ve never been able to get into Gaza,” she added. “But the paintings show the resilience and resistance of the human spirit.”
Cllr West said she was proud Islington was the first council to provide space for the exhibition before it goes on a national tour.
“It reflects the concerns of a lot of our residents about Gaza,” she said. “I believe art has a huge potential to unlock a lot of our political difficulties.”
The exhibition is organised by Islington Friends of Yibna, a friendship and support group for a refugee camp of that name in Rafah, close to the Egyptian border.
Mr Corbyn, the group’s patron, said that despite last year’s bombings, the shortages and general poverty, art manages to survive.
He added: “These paintings show often disturbing images of life under occupation. By putting on this exhibition we are showing solidarity with the Palestinians.”
Chairwoman of Friends of Yibna, Yael Kahn, who organised the exhibition, said she hoped it would remind the public of the appalling suffering still going on in Gaza.
• Gaza Under Siege exhibition, Islington Assembly Hall.
Ends today (Friday) 4pm. Admission free, phone 07880 731 865.