Art show in Kassel
New scandal at the Documenta: More anti-Semitic images surfaced
This caricature comes from the “Archives of Women’s Struggle in Algeria”: A blond woman kicks a Jew with a hooked nose in the groin.
© twitter.com/WerteInitiative
The scandal surrounding anti-Semitic images at the Documenta never ends. After the resignation of general director Sabine Schormann, new motives emerged that spread hatred of Jews.
It’s been eleven days since Sabine Schormann, the general director of the Documenta, drew conclusions from the anti-Semitism scandal at the art show and resigned from her post. Her successor, Alexander Fahrenholtz, believed that “the Documenta as an exhibition is on an excellent course”. But he was obviously a bit hasty with his assessment: the scandal is not over yet.
As the “Bild” newspaper reports, the research and information center for anti-Semitism in Hesse (RIAS Hessen) has published photos of brochures in which Israeli soldiers are portrayed in anti-Semitic terms. One of the pictures shows how a blond woman kicks a Jew with a hooked nose. According to the “WerteInitiative. Jewish-German Positions” these caricatures serve “obviously anti-Jewish clichés”.
The brochure comes from the Algerian collective Presence des Femmes and is said to contain excerpts from a booklet written by a member of the terrorist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
Dismay at the Documenta
The reactions to this renewed find are devastating: “Despite weeks of debate and warnings, there are other dubious works at Documenta15,” says Floriane Azoulay, the director of the Arolsen Archive, which deals with National Socialist persecution, Nazi forced labor and the Holocaust concerned. “Artistic freedom is a valuable asset. But it must not be misused as a cloak for hatred of any kind.” The American Jewish Committee Berlin is also appalled: “The virulent anti-Semitism at Documenta15 remains unacceptable and the reaction of those responsible is a disgrace!”
The Values Initiative is particularly harsh on Alexander Fahrenholtz: The interim managing director of the Kunstschau “categorically rejects an examination of the works of art,” it says on Twitter. “With the level of anti-Semitism at Documenta15, that’s negligent.”
Sources used: “Bild.de”, twitter.com/WerteInitiative