Mural, flyers slammed by ADC
MELBOURNE artist Van-T-Rudd has come under fire for a mural that depicts Israeli actress Gal Gadot in her Wonder Woman guise restraining teenage Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi.
MELBOURNE artist Van-T-Rudd has come under fire for a mural that depicts Israeli actress Gal Gadot in her Wonder Woman guise restraining teenage Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi.
The painting, which appears on a wall in Fitzroy is titled “Even Wonder Woman is trained to imrison [sic] Palestinian children” and includes the hashtag “#FreeAhed Tamimi”.
On his website, the artist wrote, “I’ve been wanting to create a #FreeAhedTamimi mural for a while, and was inspired by the many artists around the world who’ve expressed their solidarity with the Palestinian struggle against Israel’s brutal occupation of Palestine, and particularly what 16-year-old Ahed Tamimi symbolises to younger and new audiences around the world.
He added, “Wonder Woman is used in the mural to satirise the Israeli actor Gal Gadot who played Wonder Woman in the 2017 global movie release. She was trained by the Israeli Defense Force [sic] and is known to stand by the IDF’s mission of repressing Palestinian people.”
Slamming the mural as inflammatory, Dvir Abramovich of the Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC) stated, “It is a shame that Van-T-Rudd has chosen to become a cheerleader for the Israel-bashers camp instead of using his art to build bridges between communities and to promote the message of peace and reconciliation.
“In contrast to Gadot, Tamimi, a well-known provocateur and advocate for violence, has bitten and slapped an Israeli soldier, and has expressed support for terrorists who have attacked Israeli civilians. Maybe if he learns the true facts, Van-T-Rudd will be able to produce a much more balanced and nuanced mural about the Israeli–Palestinian situation that does not engage in vilification and which reflects reality.”
In other news, the ADC has condemned a flyer that was circulated around Footscray last week, which claims “The Jews are the whole world’s enemy … they are pure evil.”
Among other statements, the leaflet says Jews “created ISIS (Israel Secret Intelligence Service) to obtain the Middle East through wars”, and “poison us through vaccines, processed foods, medications etc”.
Describing the flyer as “very alarming”, Abramovich said, “It’s clear that anti-Semites are redoubling their efforts like never before, to spread their venomous ideology.
“The repugnant charges made against Jews in this flyer attempt to drive a potentially dangerous wedge between communities, and poses a threat to the values of inclusivity and respect that we cherish.”
AJN STAFF
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