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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.
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FBI Investigating ‘Targeted Terror Attack’ in Boulder, Colorado, Director Says
FILE PHOTO: FBI Director Kash Patel testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on President Trump’s proposed budget request for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 8, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
FBI Director Kash Patel said on Sunday the agency was aware of and fully investigating a targeted terror attack in Boulder, Colorado.
While he did not provide further details, Patel said in a social media post: “Our agents and local law enforcement are on the scene already, and we will share updates as more information becomes available.”
According to CBS News, which cited witnesses at the scene, a suspect attacked people with Molotov cocktails who were participating in a walk to remember the Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza.
The Boulder Police Department said it was responding to a report of an attack in the city involving several victims. It has not released further details but a press conference was expected at 4 p.m. Mountain Time (2200 GMT).
The attack comes just weeks after a Chicago-born man was arrested in the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington, D.C. Someone opened fire on a group of people leaving an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that fights antisemitism and supports Israel.
The shooting fueled polarization in the United States over the war in Gaza between supporters of Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
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Terrorist Responsible for Death of 21 Soldiers Eliminated
An Israeli F-35I “Adir” fighter jet. Photo: IDF
i24 News – Khalil Abd al-Nasser Mohammed Khatib, the terrorist who commanded the terrorist cell that killed 21 soldiers in the southern Gaza Strip on January 22, 2024, was killed by an Israeli airstrike, the IDF said on Sunday.
In a joint operation between the military and the Shin Bet security agency, the terrorist was spotted in a reconnaissance mission. The troops called up an aircraft to target him, and he was eliminated.
Khatib planned and took part in many other terrorist plots against Israeli soldiers.
i24NEWS’ Hebrew channel interviewed Dor Almog, the sole survivor of the mass casualty disaster, who was informed on live TV about the death of the commander responsible for the killing his brothers-in-arms.
“I was sure this day would come – I was a soldier and I know what happens at the end,” said Almog. “The IDF will do everything to bring back the abductees and to topple Hamas, to the last one man.”
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Stanley Fischer, Former Fed Vice Chair and Bank of Israel Chief, Dies at 81
FILE PHOTO: Vice Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve System Stanley Fischer arrives to hear Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney delivering the Michel Camdessus Central Banking Lecture at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, U.S., September 18, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
Stanley Fischer, who helped shape modern economic theory during a career that included heading the Bank of Israel and serving as vice chair of the US Federal Reserve, has died at the age of 81.
The Bank of Israel said he died on Saturday night but did not give a cause of death. Fischer was born in Zambia and had dual US-Israeli citizenship.
As an academic at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Fischer trained many of the people who went on to be top central bankers, including former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as well as Mario Draghi, the former European Central Bank president.
Fischer served as chief economist at the World Bank, and first deputy managing director at the International Monetary Fund during the Asian financial crisis and was then vice chairman at Citigroup from 2002 to 2005.
During an eight-year stint as Israel’s central bank chief from 2005-2013, Fischer helped the country weather the 2008 global financial crisis with minimal economic damage, elevating Israel’s economy on the global stage, while creating a monetary policy committee to decide on interest rates like in other advanced economies.
He was vice chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2017 and served as a director at Bank Hapoalim in 2020 and 2021.
Current Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron praised Fischer’s contribution to the Bank of Israel and to advancing Israel’s economy as “truly significant.”
The soft-spoken Fischer – who played a role in Israel’s economic stabilization plan in 1985 during a period of hyperinflation – was chosen by then Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as central bank chief.
Netanyahu, now prime minister, called Fischer a “great Zionist” for leaving the United States and moving to Israel to take on the top job at Israel’s central bank.
“He was an outstanding economist. In the framework of his role as governor, he greatly contributed to the Israeli economy, especially to the return of stability during the global economic crisis,” Netanyahu said, adding that Stanley – as he was known in Israel – proudly represented Israel and its economy worldwide.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog also paid tribute.
“He played a huge role in strengthening Israel’s economy, its remarkable resilience, and its strong reputation around the world,” Herzog said. “He was a world-class professional, a man of integrity, with a heart of gold. A true lover of peace.”
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