Venice Biennale, the Israeli pavilion closed: “Until the hostages are released”

The Israeli pavilion at the sixtieth Venice Biennale, which was due to open today, will remain closed “until a ceasefire is agreed and the hostages” held by Hamas are freed. This is the announcement that appeared this morning on a sign displayed outside the Israeli pavilion at the Art Biennale. The decision of the curator and the artist, Ruth Patir, is not to cancel the exhibition, “but it is a choice of solidarity with the families of the hostages and the large community of Israel which is asking for change”.

“As an artist and educator – explains Patir – I strongly reject the cultural boycott, but I have great difficulty in presenting a project that talks about vulnerability for life at a time when there is no respect for it”.

Ruth Patir clarified that the closure is not definitive and that it is a decision “in solidarity with the families of the hostages and the large Israeli community that is demanding change”. However, through the glass of the pavilion it is possible to glimpse a screen on which the video images flow Cooking, created by the artist. “I feel like the time of art is lost and I need to believe that it will return,” Patir wrote on Instagram. “I firmly oppose the cultural boycott – continues the artist – but since I don’t believe there are correct answers, and I can only do what I can with the space I have, I prefer to make my voice heard for those I support, for the cease fire and bring people home now.

After the Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7, 1,200 people were killed and approximately 240 others were kidnapped. Immediately afterwards, Israel launched a military operation against the Gaza Strip which after six months caused almost 34 thousand deaths and 80 thousand injuries, and displaced 80% of the population. To date, around a hundred hostages still remain in the hands of Hamas.

The pro-Palestinian movements have repeatedly asked to deny Israel’s participation in the art biennial in solidarity with the population of Gaza, who is also dealing with restrictions and blocks on humanitarian aid, while in Israel numerous protests have taken place against the current Netanyahu government, accused of not doing enough to bring the hostages home safely.

At the end of March the United Nations Security Council approved a resolution ordering Israel to maintain a ceasefire until the end of Ramadan, which ended on April 10, but Tel Aviv did not respect it. At the moment, negotiations with Hamas are at a standstill, as the Palestinian organization demands an end to hostilities and the exit of Israeli forces from the Strip as a necessary condition for the release of the hostages.