As of Monday, Holon residents are being greeted along their streets with signs and posters that many residents say “malign the public and the IDF.” Channel Two reported that many local residents have responded angrily against the city-supported exhibit. The exhibit is scheduled to last for nearly four months, until the end of March 2010.
The exhibit, co-sponsored by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, commemorates the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Geneva Convention. The Holon municipality explained that the exhibit “reflects the various voices within Israeli society.”
Among the posters and displays are some that depict the IDF as a cruel army that threatens children and bombs kindergartens, the Israeli public as concerned only about rocket attacks and not about people living in Gaza, and the security fence as benefiting only religious settlers.
In response to a query by Israel National News as to whether the city was considering removing the exhibit in response to the reactions, the spokesperson said, “The decision is in the hands of the city leadership.” Asked when such a decision might be made, she said that her response was not intended to mean that such a decision was being currently considered, and that additional information would be provided only in response to an email query, which has since been sent.
The “Im Tirtzu” (If You Will It) organization responded sharply to the exhibit. “There is a big difference between freedom of speech and freedom to incite,” Im Tirtzu chairman Ronen Shoval told Arutz-7. “Many concerned citizens turned to us to express their shock at what they saw. The lies presented here are no different than the lies of the Goldstone Report.”
“It goes without saying that the entire purpose of this exhibit is to demonize the IDF and its soldiers,” wrote Amit Barak, Im Tirtzu’s deputy director. “It is designed to prepare the ground for various elements in Israel and around the world to pursue IDF officers and put them on trial.”
Im Tirtzu has asked Interior Minister Eli Yishai to enact sanctions against the Holon Municipality, and to fire those responsible in the event that public monies were used to subsidize the exhibit.
“It’s no longer a question of left-wing vs. nationalist views,” Shoval told Arutz-7. “This is downright anti-Zionism. The mayor of Holon is a Labor Party member, and apparently anti-Zionist trends have infiltrated even the Labor Party. Perhaps if Holon was located in the south and were attacked by Kassam rockets, the city might not allow such an exhibit. It is interesting that the civil rights organizations are concerned only with the rights of non-Jewish citizens.”
36 Years, One Mayor
Holon, with 172,000 people, is Israel’s 9th largest city, just south of Tel Aviv, east of Bat Yam, and north of Rishon LeTzion. Incumbent mayor Moti Sasson was first elected in 1993; the city’s second mayor, Pinchas Ayalon, served for 34 years, from 1953 until 1987.