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Artists are boycotting Finland’s national gallery over an Israeli billionaire on its board
(JTA) — Nearly 130 Finnish artists will not be working with Kiasma, the modern art wing of Finland’s national gallery, they announced, in protest of a Finnish-Israeli billionaire who supports the gallery and has connections to both countries’ arms industries.
The artists had signed the statement by Monday after the museum refused to remove a representative of the Zabludowicz Art Trust from its board. The trust was funded and established by Chaim “Poju” Zabludowicz, a Finnish-Israeli billionaire who is the son of Shalom Zabludowicz, a Polish-born Jew and Auschwitz survivor who made his fortune by connecting the Finnish and Israeli arms industries.
“As art workers, we expect the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art to refuse financial or other support from private parties involved in arms trading or manufacturing and financial investments in conflict zones,” the statement reads.
Poju Zabludowicz today lives in the United Kingdom and is in charge of Tamares, the family’s holding company, which invests largely in real estate, though it still has some connections to the Israeli and Finnish defense industries. He has also been involved in pro-Israel advocacy, establishing the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) pro-Israel lobbying group. He donated heavily to Britain’s Conservative party a decade ago.
Zabludowicz was investigated by Israeli police as part of their probe into allegedly illegal gifts given to former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, though Zabludowicz was not ultimately listed as a suspect in Netanyahu’s corruption trial.
Zabludowicz and his wife Anita are avid art collectors and have accumulated more than 5,000 pieces from over 500 artists. The Zabludowicz Collection, which is run by the Art Trust, is displayed in galleries in London, New York and Finland.
The trust has long been targeted by boycotts organized by pro-Palestinian activists. Some created a group called BDZ/Boycott Zabludowicz — a spin on the term BDS, referring to the international boycott, divestment and sanctions movement targeting Israel.
“Zabludowicz Art Trust uses art and culture to artwash the Israeli state’s ongoing racism and violence against Palestinians,” BDZ says on its website. “It is intimately connected to lobbying activities on behalf of the Israeli state, and to a company providing services to the Israeli Air Force. The Zabludowicz brand weaponizes culture to legitimate and reinforce the Israeli policy of apartheid.”
Last year, after the last flareup of military hostilities between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, 25 artists “deauthored” their works because of their inclusion in the Zabludowicz Collection, according to ArtNet.
In a statement last year, responding to the boycotts and de-authorizations, the Zabludowicz’s voiced their support for a two-state solution.
“We founded the Zabludowicz Collection to nurture art and artists and promote a culture of inclusivity. The war between Israel and Hamas has broken our hearts once again. We passionately support a Two-State Solution that guarantees the rights of Palestinians and Israelis to live and work side-by-side in peace,” the couple said.
According to Kiasma, it has no power to expel individuals, particularly Finnish citizens, from the board of its support foundation.
“As an organization operating under the Finnish state, the National Gallery and its museums cannot participate in boycotts directed at individual citizens,” the museum said in a statement.
It added: “We participate in those boycotts and blockades to which the Finnish state has committed and directed us to.”
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Jailed Iranian Peace Laureate Mohammadi Moved to Hospital in Tehran
A picture of Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi on the wall of the Grand Hotel in central Oslo before the Nobel banquet, in connection with the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize 2023, in Oslo, Norway, Dec. 10, 2023. Photo: NTB/Javad Parsa via REUTERS
Iran’s imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi has been moved to a hospital in the capital, Tehran, and has been granted a suspension of her sentence on heavy bail, a foundation run by her family said on Sunday.
Mohammadi, 54, won the prize in 2023 while in prison for a campaign to advance women’s rights and abolish the death penalty. She suffered a heart attack two weeks ago.
Her family had called for her to be transferred from Zanjan, northwest of Tehran, where she was serving her sentence and where she had been initially taken to a hospital, so that she could receive better medical care.
She is now at Tehran Pars Hospital for treatment by her own medical team after being transferred by ambulance, the Narges Mohammadi Foundation said in a statement.
Mohammadi was sentenced to a new prison term of 7-1/2 years, the foundation said in February, weeks before the US and Israel launched their war against Iran. The Nobel committee at the time called on Tehran to free her immediately.
She had been arrested in December after denouncing the death of a lawyer, Khosrow Alikordi. A prosecutor told reporters that she had made provocative remarks at Alikordi’s memorial ceremony.
The foundation gave no details of the bail arrangements or suspension of her sentence.
“However, a suspension is not enough,” it said. “Narges Mohammadi requires permanent, specialized care. We must ensure she never returns to prison.”
Iran shut down most of the internet in the country in January as authorities suppressed mass protests triggered by economic unease. Rights groups have reported ongoing executions of people involved in the unrest.
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Israel’s Attorney General Calls to Cancel Netanyahu’s Mossad Chief Appointment
Israeli Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara. Photo: Twitter
i24 News – Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara told the High Court of Justice on Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to appoint Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman as the next Mossad chief must be canceled.
Baharav-Miara filed her position ahead of a Tuesday hearing on petitions challenging the appointment, telling the court that “substantial flaws” had been found both in the process conducted by the advisory committee and in the conclusions it drew. She said Netanyahu’s decision suffered from “extreme and blatant unreasonableness” and could not stand legally.
At the center of the dispute is the case of Ori Elmakayes, who was a 17-year-old minor when he was activated in 2022 by Division 210, without going through authorized intelligence channels. At the time, the division was commanded by Gofman. Elmakayes was arrested in May 2022 under espionage charges after two officers sent him classified information and told him to post it online as part of an “influence campaign,” despite not being authorized to do so. Gofman initiated this operation. Elmakayes was then held in full detention until July, spending an extended period under electronic monitoring and house arrest before the indictment against him was canceled in late 2023.
Baharav-Miara says Gofman’s involvement in leaking the classified information to the minor, “casts a heavy shadow on Gofman’s integrity and thus on his appointment to head the Mossad.” The attorney general also identified serious procedural failings in the advisory committee’s work. She notes that the majority members signed their opinion before committee chairman and former Supreme Court president Asher Grunis had written his dissent and before two members had reviewed several classified documents significant to the full picture. Grunis concluded that integrity flaws had been found and that it was not appropriate to appoint Gofman as Mossad chief.
The attorney general also says the committee failed to hear directly from Elmakayes or from a relevant senior military intelligence officer, instead relying in part on media interviews.
Netanyahu, who appointed Gofman to head the Mossad starting in early June, for a five-year term, submitted his own response to the court on this past Friday, arguing that the decision fell within his executive authority. The Prime Minister also said that his assessment of the matter was “dozens of times superior” to that of the court, adding that Gofman’s integrity was “found pure,” and describing him as the most qualified candidate.
Other coalition figures responded to the attorney general with sharp criticism, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Ben-Gvir accused Baharav-Miara of fighting the state, while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said her position was “one step too far” and vowed to advance legislation splitting the attorney general’s role in the Knesset’s summer session.
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Kuwait’s Army Says It Has Intercepted Hostile Drones Over Airspace
A drone is seen at an underground site at an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on May 28, 2022. Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Kuwait’s army said it had detected and dealt with several hostile drones in the country’s airspace at dawn on Sunday, the latest incident following similar cross‑border drone activity linked to the Iran conflict.
On April 25, Kuwait’s army said two drones launched from Iraq had targeted two northern border posts, causing damage.
Its air defenses also dealt with a wave of Iranian drones on April 8 that targeted vital infrastructure.
While hostilities during the conflict have largely been scaled down since a ceasefire came into effect in April, drones have been launched from Iraq towards Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
