Lego exhibit amended after Israeli diplomat cries anti-Semitism
Senior staffer at Israeli embassy in Madrid protests over exhibition entitled 'Operation Vengeance,' that shows soldiers clad in olive green holding Israeli flag; museum claims 'the soldiers are the good guys.'
A Lego exhibit claiming to show Jewish revenge against the Nazis in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust has been removed in Spain after a senior Israeli diplomat complained of anti-Semitism.
The exhibit, entitled "Operation Vengeance" showcased Lego figures of soldiers wearing the Israeli flag on their uniforms pointing weapons at civilians.
But the Israeli symbols were removed from the display Tuesday, following an outcry from Deputy Chief of Mission Assaf Moran.
The display in central Madrid is part of the "I Love Lego" exhibition in the city's Gaviria Palace and was spotted by Moran during a trip with his children.
Moran complained to the exhibition's organizers who, in turn, presented him with the exhibit's explanatory notes, which said that it depicted "an historical event" from the days after the war ended.
"Operation Vengeance is a spectacular diorama (3D model) of an historical event that took place in 1945 in Priuli, northern Italy. The reconstructed scene symbolizes vengeance attacks carried out by the anti-Nazi brigades," the note read.
But Moran pointed out that the display showcases Israeli soldiers three years before the Jewish state was established. Therefore, claimed the diplomat, the exhibition was distorting history and misleading the public.
"There is a double lie here: First, the exhibit shows Israeli soldiers pointing guns at civilians without providing any context. Therefore, the exhibition's visitors perceive Israel as a violent and aggressive state," Moran said.
"The second explanation actually provides a kind of justification for the exhibition, only it is completely false and certainly does not justify having Israeli flags at a time when the Jewish state had not yet been established. If there were soldiers that carried out vengeance attacks against the Nazis, they were wearing British uniforms," Moran added.
Following the diplomat's complaints, the director of the museum removed all Israeli references from the exhibit.
This is not the first time that a European exhibit has offended Israeli sensibilities.
In 2004, then-Israeli Ambassador to Sweden Zvi Mazel destroyed an exhibit in Stockholm that appeared to glorify suicide bombings in Israel, which were then at a height.
The installation, entitled "Snow White and the Madness of Truth," was comprised of a pool of water colored to look like blood, on which floated a small boat labeled "Snow White" bearing a picture of Hanadi Jaradat, who carried out a suicide attack at the Maxim restaurant in Haifa in 2003, killing 21 people.
Mazel, who was invited to the opening, destroyed the installation in fury, sparking a diplomatic furor. The diplomat, however, was unrepentant.
Muslim teacher in US fired for refusing to sign pro-Israel oath
A Muslim teacher working at a public school in Texas, the US, has been recently fired from her job because she boycotts Israel, the Intercept reported on Monday.
Bahia Amawi, a children's speech specialist, refused to sign a required document certifying that she does not and will not engage in a boycott of Israel or take any action that is intended to inflict economic harm on that state.
Amawi filed a lawsuit on Monday saying that the school violated her free speech rights, guaranteed under the First Amendment of the US Constitution, by forcing her to sign the document.
The US violations against those demanding justice for the Palestinians have been stepped up recently, the latest of which was the CNN firing of anchor Marc Lamont Hill following his pro-Palestinian speech at the United Nations.
"We have an opportunity to not just offer solidarity in words but to commit to political action, grass-roots action, local action and international action that will give us what justice requires and that is a free Palestine from the river to the sea," Hill said in the speech.
Pro-Israel groups found that a chance to strongly criticize Hill and accuse him of anti-Semitism and of "planning to destroy Israel" and "following Hamas's path".
Veteran Israeli Journalist Gideon Levy: BDS Is Not Anti-Semitic
Veteran Israeli journalist Gideon Levy has reaffirmed his support for the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, speaking in a Haaretz podcast interview.
Asked about the backlash against the boycott, both in Israel and in the United States,
Levy said that the BDS campaign is still "the only game in town", a description he first used in 2016.
According to Levy, "one of the biggest successes" of the boycott has been the way it has "changed the discourse" internationally; now "people start to ask and question Zionism", and whether "it is the only regime we can have in this piece of land".
"This discourse is a very fascinating one," Levy said.
Responding to the claims made by the Israeli government that the BDS movement is "anti-Semitic", Levy dismissed such charges as "the automatic response of the Israeli propaganda against any criticism of Israel, not just BDS".
Levy said he believes that as BDS gains more momentum, Israelis will move beyond simply dismissing the boycott as a form of anti-Semitism and ask if "there is something wrong about us".
Despite the denial and aggression, Levy continued, "there is this knowledge that something is burning under our feet".
Addressing the goals of the BDS movement, Levy said his understanding was that "it's about changing the regime from an apartheid one to a democracy".
~ Haaretz/Days of Palestine
Human Interest 12/14/18 Actress Natalie Portman says New Israeli Nation-state Law is 'Racist' and a 'Mistake'
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