LONDON—-The Simon Wiesenthal Centre has protested against an exhibition on “Palestinian Right of Return Protests” which is currently shown at Somerset House in London in the framework of f the Sony World Photography Awards
The Simon Wiesenthal Centre’s Director for International Relations, Shimon Samuels, wrote a letter to letter to Somerset House Director Jonathan Reekie and Chair William Sieghart, condemning the exhibition which he viewed as “propaganda for Hamas terrorism that abuses its rich history, renown and the good name of Somerset House.
’’The letter highlighted the exhibition’s one-sided “series description” like the following one: “Since May 30, 2018, Palestinian protesters have protested weekly on the border with Israel in order to demand their right to return. The protests are still continuing along the Gaza Strip area bordering Israel, where around 233 Palestinian protesters have been killed and 21,000 injured by Israeli snipers.”
Samuels said ‘’this language arguably violates the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of Antisemitism, to which the United Kingdom is a signatory – in the case of, “Applying double standards by requiring of [Israel} a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.”
The Centre offered Somerset House its UNESCO co-sponsored exhibition, ‘People, Book, Land: the 3500 Year Relationship of the Jewish People with the Holy Land’. These 24 panels focus on how the Jewish code of ethics contributed to humanity.”
This exhibition, has been displayed, inter alia, at UNESCO in Paris, the UN in New York, the Vatican, the British Parliament, the Council of Europe,…” We look forward to organizing its opening at Somerset House in the very near future,” concluded Samuels.