Artists group in Prague interrupts national gallery event to decry turning blind eye to Gaza

By Ebad Ahmed

PRAGUE (AA) – An event at the Czech National Gallery in Prague was interrupted by a group protesting Israel’s ongoing military offensive in Gaza and the Czech Republic’s support for it.

During opening speeches at the Thursday night event, Yara Abu Aataya, a Prague-based content designer, said: “Good evening, everyone, on behalf of the Prague Art Collective, we interrupt the opening. Six months ago, in October 2023, I was an exhibitor here. And today, I'm standing here asking for a minute of your attention.”

Aataya said she is from Gaza and that her family is still in the besieged city, like millions of other innocent civilians. “It is imperative that we do not turn a blind eye to the genocide of the Palestinians because right now there are massacres of the local population,” she urged.

Though Alicja Knast, the gallery director, supported Aataya’s right to speak, the gallery’s security stepped in and prevented her from continuing.

“There is silence in the Czech Republic. Journalists are silent. Artistic institutions are silent. It is time to act. Let's not be silent,” she said despite the intervention by security.

A statement by the Prague Art Collective said the protest was an expression of frustration against the “silence of art institutions and the non-objectivity of the Czech media.”

The Czech government has been strongly supportive of Israel’s war on Gaza, in which some 32,000 people have been killed, with the country’s premier even suggesting moving the country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in a show of support.