Yesterday evening cultural workers in Tel Aviv gathered in a silent protest to “stand against the destruction of Gaza”. Artists, curators, musicians, authors, photographers and poets assembled close to what has become known as “hostages square”, surrounded by The Cameri Theater, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, the Beit Ariela Library, and the Israeli Opera building.
Some of the protest’s participants handed pamphlets to passersby, which read in part: “We, artists, creators, and cultural practitioners, stand here today to raise our voices against the crimes being committed in our name. Since the beginning of the war, more than 64,000 people have been murdered in Gaza and over 160,000 wounded, among them dozens of artists, writers, and cultural activists.”
During the protest, activists, dressed in black, silently held banners written in Hebrew, Arabic and English, bearing the phrase: “Cultural genocide is a war on memory.” They also raised images of an engraving by Israeli artist Ruti Zinger, depicting an open mouth as a symbol of unheard voices.
The pamphlet continued: “Most of the buildings in Gaza have been completely destroyed, including cultural institutions that were severely damaged… the destruction of culture is an act intended to erase collective memory—to strip Palestinian culture from the past and from the imagination of the people. We call on cultural institutions, and on thinkers, artists, and cultural figures—to join us and stand against the destruction of Gaza and not remain merely on the sidelines.”
In the middle of the protest a group of musicians played in a single sustained note, intended to resemble the sound of Israeli Defence Force (IDF) drones above Palestinians in Gaza, and as a tribute to the work of Ahmed Muin Abu Amsha, a Gaza-based musician and teacher. Two Palestinian musicians sang a single high note alongside the sound, which was explained further in the pamphlet. “The sound of the drone will not give rest to the survivors in Gaza—it is always there, above their heads,” it read.
The artist Addam Yekutieli, also known as Know Hope, who was involved with the protest, said: “The genocide of Palestinians in Gaza is not only claiming a grotesque amount of lives, it is also destroying a culture. Deliberate annihilation of museums, libraries, and archives aim to sever identity and erase collective memory.”
The action was a sector-based continuation of the silent demonstrations that have become commonplace in the past year, during which activists hold pictures of Palestinian children killed in IDF air strikes. In recent months, similar initiatives have taken place, with journalists, doctors and teachers protesting on behalf of their peers.