Children’s art shows their truth
Rabbis James Brandt and Doug Kahn define their censorship of the Palestinian children’s art show as an act of civic virtue. (“Sides divided over cancellation of art show by Gaza kids,” Sept. 16). They were defending us and our children from the ugly sight of Israeli bombs falling on a town square, of mangled bodies, and fearsome Israeli soldiers. Censors always think that they are only trying to protect us from bad language, bad thoughts or bad actions. Censorship is for our good, why aren’t we grateful?
I think the pictures made by the Palestinian children are probably an accurate record of what they witnessed. They were there when Israel was casting lead; Rabbis Brandt and Kahn were not, yet they feel quite sure of themselves when they prevent us from sharing the experiences of the Palestinian children.
The rabbis justify this by referring to the pictures’ one-sidedness and “inappropriateness” for viewing by children. These are the sorts of superficial reasons used to make bad ideas look high-minded. Something deeper is involved in this urge to suppress the images of Palestinian suffering. It is the numbing of the American Jewish conscience under the influence of Israel. The childrens’ drawings show an Israel that causes suffering, and the rabbis cannot acknowledge their truth.
George Hochfield | Berkeley
Art advanced political agenda
Congratulations to the directors of MOCHA for having the intelligence to cancel the phony “children’s” art show.
As Rabbi Brandt observed, these were clearly not pictures drawn by 8-year-olds without adult input. I don’t care how many times a kid sees violence, (s)he simply does not put a Mogen David on a soldier’s chest or Israeli and U.S. flags on the tail fins of a rocket. Because Israeli soldiers do not have the stars on their chests nor the rockets the flags on their fins, any depiction with those included involves a political agenda not usually attributed to children. That takes the connivance and complicity of an adult who is not above using children’s innocence to advance a hateful agenda.
For Barbara Lubin (founder and executive director of the Berkeley-based Middle East Children’s Alliance), this is another in a long litany of black marks and shameful episodes in her anti-Zionist career.
Larry Jacobs | Sea Ranch
Palestinians are human beings
The canceled Palestinian children’s art exhibit had this message to send: Palestinians are human beings, and they have suffered. That Jewish community institutions consider it their job to prevent people from hearing that simple truth is tragic.
Dana Bergen | Oakland