Call from eight thousand artists: 'Israel should not participate in the Biennale'

More than 8,000 artists worldwide have supported a petition calling for Israel to be banned from the Venice Biennale due to its attacks on Gaza.

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Call from eight thousand artists: 'Israel should not participate in the Biennale'

The Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA), an international group, has launched a petition stating that Israel, which continues its atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza, should not be included in the Biennale to be held in Venice, Italy.

In the petition, supported by more than eight thousand artists, curators, and writers from around the world, reference was made to the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in January, stating: "While Israel's months-long, indeed decades-long, assault on Gaza continues despite everything; its leaders declare themselves above international law and brazenly announce their genocidal intent."

The petition points out that in 2022, when the Russia-Ukraine War began, the Biennale "made numerous public statements supporting the Ukrainian people's right to self-determination and freedom" and decided to ban Russia due to its actions, emphasizing that the same decision should be made regarding Israel.

'TONS OF EXPLOSIVES DROPPED'

The petition, which criticizes the Biennale for remaining silent in the face of Israel's oppression of Palestinians and for applying double standards, states in summary:

"We are horrified by this double standard. Israel's attacks on Gaza constitute one of the most intense bombardments in history. As of the end of October 2023, Israel had dropped tons of explosives on Gaza with a power equivalent to the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945. In January 2024, it was reported that the daily death rate in Gaza was higher than in any other major conflict in the 21st century."

News Source: AA