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The Royal Academy of Art has apologised for displaying artwork likening Israel to Nazi Germany.
Children and young people submitted artworks to the academy for an annual summer show competition, but some related to the Israel-Hamas conflict have been withdrawn from display
One piece, submitted by a 16-year-old named as “Andy”, depicts a swastika and screaming Arab women below a looming figure of Buddha. The artwork, which is no longer on display, came with an explanatory note.
According to the Jewish News, it stated: “Watching the conflict unravel in Gaza draws many parallels with the Nazis and Chinese oppression, hence the Buddha symbol and the swastika.”
A second piece, by an 18-year-old named “Kausar”, showed claims that Israel was committing “genocide” and was also removed. The photograph was of a man holding a sign which stated: “Jews say stop genocide on Palestinians: not in our name.”
‘Hurt and distress’
The Royal Academy said it had a duty of care to the young people who had submitted the works, but ultimately decided to withdraw them, stating: “We apologise for any hurt and distress this has caused to our young artists and to our visitors.
“We will learn from this experience and we are reviewing our processes, so we can continue to celebrate the creativity of young artists in a safe and responsible way.”
The works were branded “highly politically-charged” by the Board of Deputies of British Jews and a “significant concern”.
Alex Ruger, the board’s chairman, wrote to the Royal Academy to warn it that some artworks appeared to contain “anti-Semitic tropes”.
The Royal Academy removed the works by younger artists following a review, saying: “Having reviewed and considered the matter carefully, we feel that by continuing to display these artworks, with limited opportunity to provide context or discourse, we would risk causing undue upset and could put people at risk.
“We have therefore made the decision to remove these two artworks from display.”
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