Queens Museum Nixes – And Then Reinstates – Israeli Event
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
The Queens Museum canceled and then re-instated a celebration organized by Israel’s mission to the United Nations amid a passionate discussion about the boycotts, divestment and sanctions movement.
The museum decided in the end to hold the event – intended to mark the 70th anniversary of the U.N. resolution that led to the creation of the state of Israel – after several politicians protested. The Israeli mission cited critical writings on Israel by museum director Laura Raicovich.
“It is unacceptable for BDS activists to single out Israel and ban our event,” Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, told the Jerusalem Post. His office explained the cancellation of the event in pointing to a book by Raicovich titled “Assuming Boycott: Resistance, Agency and Cultural Production.” The book includes a chapter in which the museum director endorses the BDS movement.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, city council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and the city’s department of cultural affairs spoke out against the move. Dov Hikind, a Brooklyn assemblyman, said he would introduce a bill to cut off state funds from the institution. Meanwhile, Queens borough president Melinda Katz offered to host the event at Queens Borough Hall.
After the outcry, the museum walked back its decision, saying: “We are deeply committed to all the communities we serve through our meaningful arts programming and we are looking forward to making this a successful event.” The Queens Museum did not expand on the reasoning behind the cancellation when contacted by the Forward.
While it is run by a private conservancy, the Queens Museum sits on property owned by New York City. De Blasio, Mark-Viverito, Katz and cultural affairs chief Tom Finkelpearl are ex-officio members of its board of trustees and could move to fire Raicovich.
Before the reinstatement, Danon had called for just that, a demand that was picked up in editorials on Thursday from the New York Daily News and New York Post.
Katz, Mark-Viverito and Finkelpearl did not respond to the Forward’s request for comment.
Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
