Cancellation of pro-Palestinian art exhibit in St. Louis is “shameful”

The nonprofit art gallery Craft Alliance in St. Louis has removed the exhibition Planting Seeds, Sprouting Hope, which featured pro-Palestinian works by Dani Collette and Allora McCullough. Craft Alliance management said the exhibition was removed because it violated “anti-bullying, diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility policies” and “contained anti-Semitic imagery and slogans calling for violence and the destruction of … Israel.”

The latter refers to the phrases “Land Back,” “Indigenous to Palestine,” and “From the River to the Sea.” The artists said their teaching positions at Craft Alliance have also been revoked.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned the decision on Tuesday.

In a statement, CAIR Deputy Executive Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:

“It is shameful that this gallery is censoring art and punishing artists based on a completely false accusation. This is a complete betrayal of the principle of free speech. We urge Craft Alliance to reinstate the exhibition and rehire the artists.”

He noted that in May, CAIR called on Facebook’s Oversight Board to reject pressure to recommend that the social media company censor posts or hashtags using the phrase “from the river to the sea,” Palestine will be free” based on the false claim that it inherently violates Meta’s Community Standards, or the rules on hate speech, violence and incitement or dangerous organizations and individuals.

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CAIR’s letter to Facebook’s oversight board said in part:

“It is important to combat real anti-Semitism, but it is also essential that Facebook and other social media companies reject pressure from the Israeli government and its supporters to suppress Palestinian human rights advocacy based on false allegations of anti-Semitism.

“Most Palestinian, Jewish and other activists who use the phrase have explained that they are calling for Palestinians and Israelis to live together in a single state with equal rights for all. No reasonable person would call this anti-Semitic, even if they disagree with the proposed solution. In contrast, the Israeli government’s interpretation that ‘Israeli security control from the river to the sea’ means a permanent occupation where Palestinians are denied their rights…”

Source: Cair.com