Israeli Ambassador to Sweden Tzvi Maz'el caused an international diplomatic incident Friday with his act of protest against an installation art piece equating an Islamist suicide bomber with her Israeli victims. The Ambassador literally pulled the plug on the exhibit, on display at Stockholm’s Museum of National Antiquities.
The piece, entitled "Snow White and the Madness of Truth", consisted of a pool of red liquid - to represent blood - with a miniature raft carrying a smiling headshot of the female terrorist who blew up the Maxim restaurant in Haifa on October 4, 2003, killing 21 Israelis. The fairytale-like text accompanying the display concludes, "And many people are indeed crying: the Zer Aviv family, the Almog family, / and all the relatives and friends of the dead and the wounded / and the red looked beautiful upon the white" - but it begins by referring to the terrorist as "Snow White", "you poor child", and mourned the loss of her "innocent heart."
Enraged by the artistic defamation of the Israeli victims of terror, and the whitewashing of the Islamist terrorist, Ambassador Maz'el unplugged the floodlights illuminating the exhibit, letting one fall in the water. He was subsequently asked to leave the museum premises.
The Ambassador explained afterwards that he did not act until Swedish officials refused to comply with his requests to remove the exhibit. Maz'el told the Swedish press, "As ambassador, I could not remain indifferent to such an obscene misrepresentation of reality."
President Moshe Katzav, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, former Prime Minister Ehud Barak (who appointed Mazel to his post) and other Israeli officials have expressed their unequivocal support for the Israeli Ambassador to Sweden. Prime Minister Sharon called Mazel and praised his "stand against anti-Semitism." Public Security Minister Tzachi Hanegbi praised Maz'el, saying that he should receive a special citation for his actions. Minister-Without-Portfolio Natan Sharansky stated that anyone supporting the "art" exhibit that glorified the Maxim Restaurant suicide bomber encourages and supports those who wish to eradicate the Jewish People.
Foreign Ministry officials immediately went on the offensive, attacking the Swedish government for allowing the display at an exhibit linked with a state-sponsored upcoming international conference on genocide. According to the Foreign Ministry, the display was a violation of understandings reached with the Swedes ahead of the conference. Therefore, "if it is not removed, Israel will reconsider its participation in the conference," officials said.
In contrast, Deputy Knesset Speaker Mohammed Barakeh is calling for the dismissal of Israel’s Ambassador to Sweden, calling on cultural and artistic institutions in Israel to make their protests heard. He called the ambassador’s actions an unacceptable act against a world renowned artist.
The artists behind the installation piece are Dror Feiler, an expatriate Israeli, and his Swedish wife, Gunilla Skold Feiler.
The Swedish government is expected to summon Ambassador Maz'el on Monday for "clarifications". On Saturday, Swedish Foreign Ministry officials said they "maintain that it is unacceptable to destroy works of art in this way." The Swedish Ambassador to Israel said today that his government cannot and will not interfere in the art exhibit by asking for its removal.
Within hours of the Stockholm incident, a Hebrew-language petition in support of Ambassador Maz'el was already published on-line at http://www.ezra.org.il/shagrir/. It has garnered more than 6700 signatures thus far.
The piece, entitled "Snow White and the Madness of Truth", consisted of a pool of red liquid - to represent blood - with a miniature raft carrying a smiling headshot of the female terrorist who blew up the Maxim restaurant in Haifa on October 4, 2003, killing 21 Israelis. The fairytale-like text accompanying the display concludes, "And many people are indeed crying: the Zer Aviv family, the Almog family, / and all the relatives and friends of the dead and the wounded / and the red looked beautiful upon the white" - but it begins by referring to the terrorist as "Snow White", "you poor child", and mourned the loss of her "innocent heart."
Enraged by the artistic defamation of the Israeli victims of terror, and the whitewashing of the Islamist terrorist, Ambassador Maz'el unplugged the floodlights illuminating the exhibit, letting one fall in the water. He was subsequently asked to leave the museum premises.
The Ambassador explained afterwards that he did not act until Swedish officials refused to comply with his requests to remove the exhibit. Maz'el told the Swedish press, "As ambassador, I could not remain indifferent to such an obscene misrepresentation of reality."
President Moshe Katzav, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, former Prime Minister Ehud Barak (who appointed Mazel to his post) and other Israeli officials have expressed their unequivocal support for the Israeli Ambassador to Sweden. Prime Minister Sharon called Mazel and praised his "stand against anti-Semitism." Public Security Minister Tzachi Hanegbi praised Maz'el, saying that he should receive a special citation for his actions. Minister-Without-Portfolio Natan Sharansky stated that anyone supporting the "art" exhibit that glorified the Maxim Restaurant suicide bomber encourages and supports those who wish to eradicate the Jewish People.
Foreign Ministry officials immediately went on the offensive, attacking the Swedish government for allowing the display at an exhibit linked with a state-sponsored upcoming international conference on genocide. According to the Foreign Ministry, the display was a violation of understandings reached with the Swedes ahead of the conference. Therefore, "if it is not removed, Israel will reconsider its participation in the conference," officials said.
In contrast, Deputy Knesset Speaker Mohammed Barakeh is calling for the dismissal of Israel’s Ambassador to Sweden, calling on cultural and artistic institutions in Israel to make their protests heard. He called the ambassador’s actions an unacceptable act against a world renowned artist.
The artists behind the installation piece are Dror Feiler, an expatriate Israeli, and his Swedish wife, Gunilla Skold Feiler.
The Swedish government is expected to summon Ambassador Maz'el on Monday for "clarifications". On Saturday, Swedish Foreign Ministry officials said they "maintain that it is unacceptable to destroy works of art in this way." The Swedish Ambassador to Israel said today that his government cannot and will not interfere in the art exhibit by asking for its removal.
Within hours of the Stockholm incident, a Hebrew-language petition in support of Ambassador Maz'el was already published on-line at http://www.ezra.org.il/shagrir/. It has garnered more than 6700 signatures thus far.