At the opening of the exhibition of contemporary art documenta on Saturday, June 18, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier criticized its organizers and curators for the lack of works by Israeli artists.
“It is striking that this important exhibition of contemporary art does not seem to feature Israeli artists at all,” he said in a speech in Kassel. refuse to participate in events, conferences or festivals attended by representatives of the Jewish population of Israel. “
“A democratic society cannot be pushed by artists or use them for its own ends,” Steinmeier said. “Art is allowed to be offensive, it should provoke debate,” he continued. “Criticism of Israeli policy is also allowed. But where criticism of Israel calls into question its right to exist, the line is crossed.”
According to Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a boycott of Israel is tantamount to denying the state the right to exist. “As President of Germany, I guarantee in relation to my country: the basis and precondition for discussions is the recognition of Israel,” he said.
Accusations of anti-Semitism at the documenta exhibition
The exhibition of contemporary art documenta is held every five years. In 2022, for the first time in its history, the exhibition was curated by representatives of the Asian region – the Indonesian band Ruangrupa. As the organizers of the exhibition invited artists who support the cultural boycott of Israel and did not supplement the program with works by Israeli artists, they faced accusations of anti-Semitism. However, the exhibition’s management rejected these accusations, emphasizing that they were misunderstood.
Problems of the global South
Another topic Steinmeier addressed at the opening of the exhibition was the need for politicians and society to work more intensively on issues that drive people in the southern region: “A long colonial history of tyranny and exploitation and countless white spots of revaluation. with looted cultural property. “
The dramatic effects of climate change with extreme weather conditions, droughts, food shortages and hunger, which are already being felt today, also require a more decisive solution, said the German president.
The exhibition of contemporary art documenta will last 100 days – until September 25. It will be attended by 1,500 artists from around the world.
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Ancient Jerusalem is an apple of discord
Jerusalem, the city of David
According to the Old Testament, around 1000 BC. King David, ruler of Israel and Judah, conquered Jerusalem from the Jebusites and proclaimed the city the capital and religious center of the state. Later, King Solomon’s son David built the First Temple in Jerusalem, dedicated to Yahweh, the god of the people of Israel.
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Ancient Jerusalem is an apple of discord
Babylonian captivity
Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar II twice conquered Jerusalem – in 597 and 586 BC. He captured the king and all the nobility and sent them to Babylon as slaves, and destroyed the temple in Jerusalem. After Babylon was conquered by King Cyrus II of Persia, the Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.
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Ancient Jerusalem is an apple of discord
Roman and Byzantine rule
From 63 AD Jerusalem was under the rule of the Roman Empire. In 66 AD e. an uprising broke out here: the four-year Jewish war began, which ended four years later with the victory of the Romans and the re-destruction of the Jerusalem temple. The rule of the Romans and then the Byzantines in Palestine continued for about seven hundred years.
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Ancient Jerusalem is an apple of discord
Conquest by the Arabs
During the Arab conquests of most of Greater Syria, their troops reached Palestine. In 637, the army of Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab besieged Jerusalem and eventually captured it. For centuries, several Muslim rulers competed for control of Jerusalem: the city’s owners changed frequently.
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Ancient Jerusalem is an apple of discord
The conquest of Jerusalem by the Crusaders
At the end of the 11th century, the Christian world in the East was increasingly threatened by nomadic Seljuk Turks. Pope Urban II called on Christians to crusade. In 200 years, the Europeans undertook five crusades to retake Jerusalem and liberate the Holy Sepulcher. The Crusaders managed to take Jerusalem, but they could not hold it. In 1244 the city was recaptured by Muslims.
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Ancient Jerusalem is an apple of discord
The Ottomans and the British
In 1535, after the conquest of Egypt and the Arab countries by the Ottoman Turks, Jerusalem became part of the Ottoman Empire. During the First World War, after the victory of British troops over the Ottomans in 1917, the Palestinian city came under British control.
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Ancient Jerusalem is an apple of discord
Divided city
After World War II, the British renounced their mandate for Palestine. The UN General Assembly voted to divide Palestine into two parts to create a new homeland for Holocaust survivors. After Israel declared independence, a number of Arab countries declared war on him. Jerusalem was divided into the eastern part, controlled by Jordan, and the western part, controlled by Israel.
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Ancient Jerusalem is an apple of discord
The struggle for East Jerusalem
In 1967, after winning the Six-Day War against Egypt, Jordan and Syria, Israel captured the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, the Golan Heights, and East Jerusalem. For the first time since 1949, the Israelis gained free access to the Wailing Wall. Formally, East Jerusalem was not annexed, but became an integral part of the state of Israel.
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Ancient Jerusalem is an apple of discord
Islamic shrines
Since then, Israel has not restricted Muslim access to their holy sites. Muslims can climb the Temple Mount and enter the Dome of the Rock shrine, as well as pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is considered the third shrine of Islam after the mosques in Mecca and Medina.
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Ancient Jerusalem is an apple of discord
Uncertain status
To this day, Jerusalem remains a stumbling block to peace between Israel and Palestine. In 1980, Israel declared the ancient city its “eternal and indivisible capital.” After Jordan relinquished its claims to the West Bank and Jerusalem in 1988, the Palestinians adopted a declaration of independence while declaring East Jerusalem their capital.
Author: Ines Eisele, Alexandra Elkina
