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Arts School in London Urged to Investigate Student Refusing to Sell Artwork to Zionists
The North Wing of the UCL Wilkins Building, home to the Slade School of Fine Art. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The Slade School of Fine Art in London has come under fire after one of its students said she refuses to sell her artwork to Zionists.
On May 20, Betty Ogún posted on her Instagram Story: “I will never, ever support genocide. I will not sell to Z*onist collectors and I will continue to do what I can to support human rights, peace and equal rights for all. Free Palestine.” The British charity UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) took a screenshot of the comment, which was also uploaded on Ogún’s Instagram page in a permanent post, but that has since been deleted.
Ogún exhibited her artwork at Slade’s 2024 BA/BFA degree show, which took place from May 17-23. She included a piece titled “River to Sea / Flower of Liberation,” which featured a textile in the shape of a flower that was designed in the colors of the pan-African and pan-Arab flags, Ogun explained in an Instagram post. The textile flower was green, red, black and white, and was displayed on a chair during the degree show.
“Blooming flowers are often a symbol of hope, growth, regeneration and resilience,” Ogun said, elaborating on her intention behind the creation. “These colors signify my transparent solidarity as an artist with the rights of those experiencing oppression and genocide in countries that are represented by these colors, ie Palestine, Sudan. The flower, in its composition, will remind you of a watermelon, which is the Palestinian symbol of resilience. When you come to my show and sit in the chair with this textile piece, you are facing Palestine.”
On May 21, UKLFI wrote a letter to Mary Evans, director of the Slade School of Fine Art, which is part of University College London (UCL), The British charity asked Slade and UCL to investigate Ogun’s discrimination against Zionist buyers, as well as Jews and Israelis, and “discipline her in an appropriate manner.”
“We also request that you will introduce some instruction on these issues of equality and discrimination, so that your students will understand that discriminating against Jews and Zionists is a form of racism,” the letter stated.
UKLFI pointed out that Ogun’s comments and refusal to sell to Zionists is in breach of UCL’s policies on institutional racism and inclusion, and on religion and belief equality. It is also illegal to for her to discriminate against Zionist buyers according to Section 29 of the UK’s Equalities Act 2010 (also known as “the Act”), which prohibits a person supplying goods to the public or a section of the public from discriminating against persons with protected characteristics by not supplying them.
“If Ms Ogun refuses to sell her work to Zionists, she will be in breach of the Act for discriminating against people believing in Zionism, which is a belief that the State of Israel has a right to exist,” UKLFI explained to Evans. “She will also be indirectly discriminating against Jewish people, since most Jewish people are Zionists, and indirectly discriminating against Israelis, since most Israelis are Zionists. Being Jewish, Israeli or a Zionist are all ‘protected characteristics’ under the Act.”
The British charity additionally suggested that Slade seems to be lacking in its education, if its curriculum does not teach students the legal framework they would have to adhere to as self-employed artists. “Ms Ogun’s current stance would make it impossible for any gallery or agent to offer her work, without risking falling foul of the Equality Act,” the charity said.
The Slade School of Fine Art did not respond to The Algemeiner‘s request for comment about Ogún’s social media post.
UKFLI told The Algemeiner on Wednesday that four of Ogún’s photographs and paintings are being sold on the website of Saatchi Art, which describes itself as “the world’s leading online art gallery.” The gallery sells many artworks by Israeli artists, and is named after and owned by famed art collector Charles Saatchi, who was born in 1943 to a Jewish family in Iraq.
The post Arts School in London Urged to Investigate Student Refusing to Sell Artwork to Zionists first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Readies for a Nationwide Strike on Sunday
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – The families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza are calling on for a general strike to be held on Sunday in an effort to compel the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a deal with Hamas for the release of their loved ones and a ceasefire. According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, of whom 20 are believed to be alive.
The October 7 Council and other groups representing bereaved families of hostages and soldiers who fell since the start of the war declared they were “shutting down the country to save the soldiers and the hostages.”
While many businesses said they would join the strike, Israel’s largest labor federation, the Histadrut, has declined to participate.
Some of the country’s top educational institutions, including the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University, declared their support for the strike.
“We, the members of the university’s leadership, deans, and department heads, hereby announce that on Sunday, each and every one of us will participate in a personal strike as a profound expression of solidarity with the hostage families,” the Hebrew University’s deal wrote to students.
The day will begin at 6:29 AM, to commemorate the start of the October 7 attack, with the first installation at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square in Tel Aviv. Further demonstrations are planned at dozens of traffic intersections.
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Netanyahu ‘Has Become a Problem,’Says Danish PM as She Calls for Russia-Style Sanctions Against Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the press on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
i24 News – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has become a “problem,” his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen said Saturday, adding she would try to put pressure on Israel over the Gaza war.
“Netanyahu is now a problem in himself,” Frederiksen told Danish media, adding that the Israeli government is going “too far” and lashing out at the “absolutely appalling and catastrophic” humanitarian situation in Gaza and announced new homes in the West Bank.
“We are one of the countries that wants to increase pressure on Israel, but we have not yet obtained the support of EU members,” she said, specifying she referred to “political pressure, sanctions, whether against settlers, ministers, or even Israel as a whole.”
“We are not ruling anything out in advance. Just as with Russia, we are designing the sanctions to target where we believe they will have the greatest effect.”
The devastating war in Gaza began almost two years ago, with an incursion into Israel of thousands of Palestinian armed jihadists, who perpetrated the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
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As Alaska Summit Ends With No Apparent Progress, Zelensky to Meet Trump on Monday
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at the press conference after the opening session of Crimea Platform conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, 23 August 2023. The Crimea Platform – is an international consultation and coordination format initiated by Ukraine. OLEG PETRASYUK/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – After US President Donald Trump hailed the “great progress” made during a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he was set to meet Trump on Monday at the White House.
“There were many, many points that we agreed on, most of them, I would say, a couple of big ones that we haven’t quite gotten there, but we’ve made some headway,” Trump told reporters during a joint press conference after the meeting.
Many observers noted, however, that the subsequent press conference was a relatively muted affair compared to the pomp and circumstance of the red carpet welcome, and the summit produced no tangible progress.
Trump and Putin spoke briefly, with neither taking questions, and offered general statements about an “understanding” and “progress.”
Putin, who spoke first, agreed with Trump’s long-repeated assertion that Russia never would have invaded Ukraine in 2022 had Trump been president instead of Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump said “many points were agreed to” and that “just a very few” issues were left to resolve, offering no specifics and making no reference to the ceasefire he’s been seeking.