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Artist Delays Opening of Israeli Pavilion at Venice Biennale Until Gaza Ceasefire, Hostages Released
A sign displayed outside the Israeli pavilion of the 60th Venice Biennale. Photo: Screenshot
The artist and curators representing Israel at the 60th Venice Biennale announced on Tuesday their decision not to open the nation’s pavilion until the Jewish state and Hamas sign an agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization during its attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
A sign sharing the news was displayed in the window of the Israeli national pavilion on the first day of media previews for the international fair in Italy devoted to contemporary art. The sign, written in English, read: “The artist and curators of the Israeli pavilion will open the exhibition when a ceasefire and hostage release agreement is reached.”
The 60th Venice Biennale opens on Saturday and runs until Nov. 24. Israel is among 88 national participants this year and the country’s pavilion is titled (M)otherland, which is a video installation by artist Ruth Patir. The exhibit “reimagines fertility goddesses from ancient Judean times as real-life mothers” in the technological and digital world, according to a previous description of the exhibit. It explores topics such as fertility, gender representation, and reproductive rights. The exhibit is partially funded by Israel’s Ministry of Culture and Sports and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with additional support from the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and the Center for Contemporary Art (CCA) Tel Aviv-Yafo.
Patir shared a statement on her Instagram Story explaining the move to delay the opening of the Israeli pavilion at the Venice Biennale. She said she and her curators, Mira Lapidot and Tamar Margalit, “stand by” their decision.
“I feel that the time for art is lost and I need to believe that it will return. And so if I am given such a remarkable stage, I want to make it count,” Patir said. “I am an artist and educator, I firmly object to cultural boycott, but since I feel there are no right answers, and I can only do what I can with the space I have, I prefer to raise my voice with those I stand with in their scream.”
She concluded by saying, “Ceasefire now, bring the people back from captivity. We can’t take it anymore.”
The Tel Aviv-based studio called 3SISTERS, which helped create the (M)otherland video installation, released a statement on its Instagram account saying it stands by Patir’s decision. “[We] support the action of bringing attention to the fact that the Israeli hostages are still in Hamas captivity for more than half a year,” the studio said. “This war must end with the defeat of Hamas terror organization.”
The national pavilions at the Venice Biennale run independently from the main show and each nation decides its own show.
In February, thousands of artists, curators, and critics signed an open letter calling on the Venice Biennale to expel the Israeli national pavilion from this year’s event in protest of Israel’s military campaign against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. However, Italy supported Israel’s participation.
The post Artist Delays Opening of Israeli Pavilion at Venice Biennale Until Gaza Ceasefire, Hostages Released first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.