‘No place to be neutral’: Norway’s arts and culture world takes a stand for Gaza

By Leila Nezirevic

LONDON (AA) – For decades, Israel’s oppression of Palestinians has targeted all aspects of their life, both present and past.

International organizations and rights watchdogs have clearly documented the theft of Palestinian land and resources, along with mass killings and all sorts of deadly violence by Israeli forces and settlers.

Another Israeli target over the years has been Palestinian cultural heritage, and the attacks on it have only intensified during the ongoing war on Gaza.

Gaza’s archaeological sites and their thousands of years of history have been deliberately targeted, according to experts, many of whom view it as part of a “cultural genocide.”

A report released by Gazan authorities toward the end of last year said more than 200 archaeological and ancient sites had been destroyed since Oct. 7, out of a total of 325 registered across the besieged Palestinian enclave.

These include places such as Anthedon Harbor, or Blakhiyah, Gaza’s first known seaport and a UNESCO heritage site dating back to 800 BC, Qasr al-Basha, also known as Radwan Castle, and Napoleon’s Castle, a historical public museum dating back to the Mamluk period.

Scores of other museums, libraries, archives and one of the world’s oldest churches have also been turned to dust, all despite various international laws emphasizing the protection of cultural heritage in war.

This unchecked Israeli aggression has drawn condemnation from around the world, including in Norway, where figures from the arts and culture community are taking a stand for Gaza.

Around 70 employees of the National Museum of Norway, its largest art museum, have organized under the banner of “Culture Against Genocide” and launched a petition against their own management, which has garnered signatures from over 1,800 artists and other people in the field.

The petition demands that the museum join “calls for an immediate and permanent cease-fire, a halt to the ongoing humanitarian disaster and genocide of Palestinians as a result of Israel’s longstanding occupation and subsequent destruction of Gaza,” a spokesperson for the group, who wished to remain anonymous, told Anadolu.

“The National Museum must also advocate for the preservation of Palestinian cultural heritage.”

The museum has a collection of art from Palestine which conveys important messages about war, peace and reconciliation, the spokesperson said.

For instance, there is a 19th-century Palestinian costume from Bethlehem with a form of ancient embroidery called “tatreez” but “we are not allowed to showcase it now,” they said.

The petition also calls for the museum to “actively support artists, architects, designers and others who are killed, threatened or sanctioned in and outside of Palestine because of their demand for a cease-fire and expression of solidarity.”

It demands that the museum should boycott collaboration and art that receives financial support from or is otherwise associated with the Israeli government, and withdraw from all events connected to the Israeli government.

The group’s spokesperson also called out the National Museum for its double standards, saying it has shown support for Ukraine and Ukrainian cultural heritage during its war with Russia.

“We ask that similar measures be initiated … The choice to support Ukrainians but not Palestinians can be interpreted as institutional racism,” they said.

“To say nothing about what is happening in Gaza today is to deal silently with a genocide, and the destruction of part of our common cultural heritage.”

- ‘Tremendous shift in freedom of speech’

Jannik Abel, a Norwegian artist who has signed the petition, has been documenting the pro-Palestine movement in Norway and is also working on another Palestine-related project.

“My message to the National Museum is that there is no place to be neutral anymore. The times are too dark. Neutral means that you’re actually supporting a suppressed system, and we need to show support,” she said in an interview with Anadolu.

Abel pointed out that the museum has been “very passive,” unlike other Norwegian art institutions that she said have been vocal against Israel’s actions.

“The National Museum hasn’t publicly said anything yet,” she said.

Abel said artists around the world have experienced reprisals for speaking up for Palestine or criticizing Israel in any way.

“It’s clear in Europe, especially Germany, England and now France, that you can’t even have meetings talking about Palestine or Palestinian culture,” she said.

“It’s a tremendous shift in freedom of speech and freedom of expression.”

- Discrimination against Palestinian art

Faisal Saleh, executive director of Palestine Museum US, the first Palestinian museum set up in the Western Hemisphere, told Anadolu about a recent instance of Palestinian art being targeted.

The museum, he said, applied to exhibit Palestinian artwork at this year’s Venice Biennale but it was rejected despite meeting all requirements.

“We don’t understand why we were turned down. We had people representing 26 Palestinian indigenous artists in the exhibition, which is called Foreigners in Their Homeland,” he said.

“We suspect that they may have something to do with the lack of curators understanding of the Palestinian situation and the Palestinian culture.”

The curator instead selected another project related to Palestine showcasing photographs of olive trees, he said.

The person leading that project was not a Palestinian but a South African artist who has “very intimate family ties to Israel, with relatives in the army in Gaza,” according to Saleh.

The museum has since raised a lot of objections and initiated a petition that gathered about 23,000 signatures, but nothing changed, he added.

Speaking about the establishment of the Palestine Museum US in 2018, Saleh said it was set up at a time when there “were no Palestinian museums in the Western Hemisphere whatsoever.”

“Yet, at the same time in the United States alone, there were at least 70 museums that supported the Israeli narrative,” he explained.

“It was very important for us to fill this vacuum and to fill this gap in our artistic representation at the institution level.”​​​​​​​