Jeu de Paume: un eurodéputé polonais interpelle la Commission européenne

Après avoir été présentée au Musée d'Art Contemporain de Barcelone (MACBA), l'exposition controversée de la photographe palestinienne Ahlam Shibli se trouve pour trois mois au Musée du Jeu de Paume à Paris, dont la directrice Marta Gili est de Barcelone, et ira ensuite au Musée d'Art Contemporain de Porto (Fundação Serralves).  Ces trois musées ont coproduit l'exposition.  Le catalogue bilingue français-anglais a été coédité par les trois musées et la maison d'édition allemande Hatje Cantz Verlag.  L'eurodéputé polonais Michal Kaminski n'apprécie pas que l'argent du contribuable serve à financer ce genre d'activités artistiques...

Contexte

EJP---Member of the European Parliament Michal Kaminski has expressed outrage over an exhibition in a Paris state-funded museum which glorifies Palestinian suicide bombers and call them martyrs.

In a written question to European Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou, in charge of Culture and Education, the Polish MEP said: "I am deeply disturbed by this exhibition, which I believe incites violence and could provoke more acts of violence against Israel. This is unacceptable."

He added, "We should not sidetrack from the real issue at hand and wander off into a discussion about freedom of artistic expression. The real issue is that a state-funded institution has de facto given a voice to the notion that murdering Israeli citizens is justifiable."

The Jewish community in France and around the world expressed outrage at the photo exhibition displayed at the Jeu de Paume museum in Paris by Palestinian photographer Ahlam Shibli, entitled "Death". It features dozens of portraits of Palestinian suicide bombers with anti-Israeli captions that glorify their deaths.

Among the photos are shots of suicide bombers from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the US.  Captions under the photographs state that the suicide bombers are martyrs since they died "as a result of the Israeli occupation".

"Bearing in mind that the exhibition glorifies suicide bombers from the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, which the European Union has listed as a terrorist organization, will the honorable Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou address the issue of this unacceptable exhibition with France's minister of culture? Does the Commissioner share my opinion that this exhibit incites violence and, by glorifying suicide bombers, could prompt others to undertake similar barbaric acts against Israel?", writes Michal Kaminski.


Roger Cukierman, President of CRIF, the umbrella group representing French Jewish organizations, said: "This is unacceptable. You have the right to be shocked when an apology for terrorists is made in the heart of Paris".

"And to think this is a state-funded museum. There must be more vigilance. One minute France is fighting terrorists in Mali, and then celebrating the same ones here."

Cukierman wrote to French Culture Minister Aurélie Filippeti last week to protest the display.

The museum has strongly defended its decision to stage the exhibit, saying the captions do not represent the views of the museum, but are the words of Shibli herself.

The Culture Ministry defended the right of the museum to host the exhibit, but also said, "It poses an important question: Where is the limit of freedoms to artistic expression?".