An exhibit that presumably is dedicated to promoting peace can only encourage hate as there are multiple drawings showing Israeli aircraft and tanks bombing mosques and residential homes. “A Child’s View of Gaza” is being shown from Jan. 17 to Feb. 17, 2012 at the Levantine Cultural Center, Los Angeles. It was previously scheduled to be at the Oakland's Museum of Children's Art from September 24th through mid-November, 2011 but the showing was cancelled after public reaction against displaying the pictures convinced the museum's board of directors to halt its plan.
The exhibition of drawings organized by the Middle East Children's Alliance has been advertised as being by Palestinian children documenting their experiences during the 2008-2009 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.
The elder of ziyon, however, on his website elderofziyon.blogspot.com disputed the claim that this was children’s art. He brought evidence that the artwork was not conceived, or in some cases even drawn, by children at all. Commentators with art backgrounds generally agreed that these were not the works of children. Additionally, the lack of any names on the artwork itself, and the sponsors not publicizing the names of the artists themselves, is more than a little fishy - where else is art shown without publicizing the name of the artist?
One drawing, as shown above on the left, is clearly a direct copy of a famous poster by anti-Semitic artist Latuff shown on the right, down to the path of the rocket. Many others do not reflect any reality that children in Gaza would have witnessed. They seem to more reflect Western Israel-haters' ideas of what the children should be drawing.
No reputable museum would show an exhibit without proving the provenance of the artwork. Fake pathos should not replace the truth. Any venue for this exhibit has the responsibility to determine who drew these pictures and under what circumstances. Because this is not art - it is propaganda. And chances are pretty good that it is a hoax as well.
The organizers claim that the pictures for the exhibit were chosen from art therapy sessions at a number of Gaza children's centers. They show images like a bomb painted with American and Israeli flags crashing into a street filled with dead bodies, helicopters destroying a city and a boot decorated with a Star of David stomping on a Palestinian flag.
The symbolism, the coloring and the motifs seem, at the very least, to have been heavily prompted by adults. Kids don't come up with this stuff on their own.
An art professor said: The paintings (color drawings) are highly sophisticated especially in relationship to detail. Did you see the barbed wire? Also, there is a carefully drawn Star of David in each work.
The authenticity of the painting is remarkable for a child’s hand. The drawing of the planes and helicopters, the man in the tower, the dynamic brushstrokes that are well conceived and controlled all seem to project a more mature approach to art. Could these “children” be in their late teens, college age, or young adults [MECA says they were 9 to 11 years old]? According to the the quote, “much of the artwork was produced by children.” I wonder how “much”? Also, it is possible that the “children” were directed by an adult who supervised and perhaps completed the initial drawing?
An artistic acquaintance wrote this about the artwork: I've been an avocational artist my entire life and have some experience with the styles of amateurs. The sureness of the color application -- especially in the dense, complicated scenes (which are obviously all done by the same person) -- is at variance with the primitive (faux-primitve, frankly) nature of the sketching.
It's the use of color especially that gives it away to me as the product of an older person. But the complexity of the composition in the big scenes is uncharacteristic of 9-11-year-olds as well. Certainly the politicized content is atypical.
The sureness of stroke in these pictures is something you almost never find from a very young artist. The biggest giveaway I see in this regard is not actually in the complex, refined drawings, but in the more primitive ones. For example, the confidence with which the concertina wire is sketched in, in one of the primitive crayon drawings, is just not characteristic of the young.
I was accounted an exceptional artist in my K-12 years, and I couldn't have achieved that confident, bold, rapid-stroking effect until I was at least 16. It's one of the hardest things to do, and you really do lack the coordination and focus for it when you're younger. A kid would draw that laboriously, with a lot of short, stubby strokes strung together -- or he would simply achieve a cruder, less symmetrical and more tentative effect.
These drawings don't look like those of unusually accomplished children. They look like trained artists imitating the style of a child. Moreover, what do child artists do immediately after they finish their work? They sign them. I cannot find one signature in the new set of images, although those displayed in 2002 at UW-Madison look as they were actually done by Palestinian grade-schoolers and all have signatures.
Even more interesting, one would think that a children's art exhibit would want to publicize the names of the artists - and elaborate on their own personal stories from which sprung such eloquence and experience. The artist's story is often more compelling than the art. But, for some bizarre reason, we are deprived of this information. Could it be that the organizers don't want the children to be interviewed?
Ultimately, it is up to the exhibitors to prove the authenticity of provenance of the works. Identify these young savants. And if this is a hoax, well, what museum would want to be associated with something like that?
The drawings were organized by the Middle East Children's Alliance. The MECA was formed in 1988 in Berkeley, California where its offices are still located. MECA’s focus on the well-being of children allows them to appeal on an emotional level through building playgrounds for Palestinian children. But MECA is far more a Palestinian advocacy group than a humanitarian aid organization.
MECA attempts to “educate” Americans about the conflict through “slideshows, speakouts, speakers, cultural events, newspaper ads, billboards, house parties and other events.” The goal of these efforts is not to raise money, but to convince Americans that the cause of children’s suffering in the Middle East is American and Israeli policies, and particularly the “Occupation.”
Officially, MECA supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but their advocacy delegitimizes Israel and their spokespeople have joined rallies against a two-state solution. MECA works closely with the radical ISM (International Solidarity Movement).
Barbara Lubin is the founder and Executive Director of the Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA). In February 20 2002, she clarified her political position by saying “Palestinians have been beaten, harassed, murdered, and humiliated for thirty years.” On Jan. 21st, 2009, Barbara Lubin entered the Gaza Strip and upon her return asked for more help to MECA “so they could send more medical aid to Gaza for thousands of sick and injured people living under occupation.“ (see picture above)
She uses slides and stories to highlight supposedly eyewitness accounts of the Israeli occupation and the situation in the Middle East to U.S. audiences. She works “to educate” the U.S. people about both the impact of Washington's military and political policies on the Iraqi and Palestinian people. Lubin’s current presentation focuses on the impact of Israel's occupation and siege on children in Gaza.
For her efforts, the Union of Palestinian Women's Associations in North America honored her with a special award in 1990. In 2000, the American Muslims of America presented Lubin with the Service to Humanity Award at their 51st annual conference.
Jordan Elgrably, Amani Jabsheh, and Dara Wells-Hajjar are the three individuals who take responsibility for bringing “A Child’s View of Gaza,” to the Levantine Cultural Center in Los Angeles. The past activities of all three show a clearly anti-Israel history.
Jordan Elgrably from French and Moroccan Jewish origins but prefers to call himself an Arab Jew He is one of the co-founders of the Levantine Center, also founded the New Association of Sephardi/Mizrahi Artists & Writers Int’l. in 1996, and Open Tent Middle East Coalition in 1999.
Amani Jabsheh is a Los Angeles-based peace activist who was executive producer of the play SARAH'S WAR: a fictional look at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, suggested by the real-life experiences of the late American activist Rachel Corrie. She left the West Bank city of Nablus at the age of 22 to join her Palestinian-American husband in California. Jabsheh, now 45, said she was optimistic that one day a Palestinian state would indeed be born because, as she put it, “If you look at history, no one stays oppressed” forever.
But the financial analyst admitted that she couldn’t envision herself living in such a state, as America has afforded her and her family respect, freedom and tremendous opportunity. “I have a career. Our house is here. Our children are here,” she said. “I will always go and visit with my family … [but] my life is here.”
Dara Wells-Hajjar is an activist who has worked with Jewish Voice for Peace, CODEPINK and the Levantine Cultural Center. She says that she has a responsibility as a young American Jew who has traveled to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, to speak out against injustice.
The Levantine Cultural Center is a nonprofit organization founded in June 2001. The center, located in West Los Angeles, claims that they champion a greater understanding of the Middle East and North Africa by presenting artistic and educational programs that bridge political and religious gaps. The Center fosters discussions amongst artists and thinkers and offers classes and workshops that serve diverse ethnic communities.
Their stated position on the Israel-Arab conflict is that there is no violent solution to the conflict, and that only a peaceful and just negotiated settlement will bring about change in the region. They claim that all of their programs emphasize the need for coexistence and taking shared responsibility.
But a look at the events that they sponsor, besides the “Children’s art from Gaza,” show a clear effort to delegitimize the Jewish State of Israel.
"Israel vs. Israel"
Israel vs. Israel is a documentary about Jewish peace activists who face skepticism and criticism from their fellow Israeli citizens. They share a common goal: to achieve peace in the Middle East and end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories.
Uncovering the Rachel Corrie Story
Nicole Marie Tellier tells us that despite being an “empathizer for Palestinian rights” she did not know about Rachel Corrie until she attended the trial in Israel with the late activist's parents.
“Sarah's War”
A play that provides a fictional look at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, suggested by the real-life experiences of the late American activist Rachel Corrie.
My Name is Rachel Corrie
A play composed from the journals, letters and emails of the 23-year-old American peace activist who died protesting the demolition of a Palestinian home in Gaza.
"I Heart Hamas" Stars Jennifer Jajeh
Jennifer Jajeh's tragicomic solo show her discoveries of what life in Ramallah is like for Palestinians.
Further Reading:
Rae Abileah has found her calling as a professional Jewish activist for CODEPINK against Israel
Occupy AIPAC” plans to disrupt the AIPAC Conference on March 2-6, 2012 in Washington DC.
