Works and materials from the studio of Gershon Knispel, a major 20th century Israeli artist, were thrown onto the sidewalk in the city of Haifa. It was a passer-by who lives in the neighborhood where the workshop was located who noticed the pile of objects. “There were lithographs, prints, but also letters, art books and photos. A lot of people came and took what they wanted,” she told Channel 12.
It is not yet known how this precious content ended up there, but after a photo of the pile of objects posted on Facebook, Internet users expressed their disgust. “The attitude towards the history of Israeli art is appalling, it is a norm in Israel. The attitude towards culture and heritage is blasphemous”, could one read in particular.
After complaints from residents and the Channel 12 report, the Ministry of Culture and Haifa Municipality decided to intervene to save what was left near the workshop. “Even though it was not city property or property, city workers traveled to recover items of cultural and historical value,” it was reported. The collected items have been transferred to the city archives, where they will be stored and carefully preserved.”
German-born Holocaust survivor Gershon Knisfel was a painter and sculptor who lived in Israel and Brazil. He belonged to the “social realism” movement and was considered one of the main Israeli artists of the second half of the 20th century. In the 60 years he has been creating, Gershon Knisfel has produced sculptures, drawings, prints and paintings that have won prizes in the world’s most important art competitions.
During his lifetime, he had to deal with the ransacking of one of his works, a relief on the wall of the urban high school in Haifa. In 2012, following the fall of a few tiles, the municipality had indeed removed the work and had thrown it away. In response, Gershon Knispel sued the authorities and was compensated 460,000 shekels.
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