{"id":189415,"date":"2022-12-09T09:00:38","date_gmt":"2022-12-09T14:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/?p=189415"},"modified":"2022-12-08T15:44:16","modified_gmt":"2022-12-08T20:44:16","slug":"artists-are-boycotting-finlands-national-gallery-over-an-israeli-billionaire-on-its-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/artists-are-boycotting-finlands-national-gallery-over-an-israeli-billionaire-on-its-board\/","title":{"rendered":"Artists Are Boycotting Finland\u2019s National Gallery Over an Israeli Billionaire on its Board"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
The Finnish National Gallery is located in Helsinki. (Petri Virtanen via JTA.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By David I. Klein<\/p>\n

Nearly 130 Finnish artists will not be working with Kiasma, the modern art wing of Finland\u2019s national gallery, they announced, in protest of a Finnish-Israeli billionaire who supports the gallery and has connections to both countries\u2019 arms industries.<\/p>\n

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 \u201cPoju\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs 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,\u201d the statement reads.<\/p>\n

Poju Zabludowicz today lives in the United Kingdom and is in charge of Tamares, the family\u2019s 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\u2019s Conservative party a decade ago.<\/p>\n

\n
Zabludowicz was investigated by<\/a>\u00a0Israeli police as part of their probe into allegedly illegal\u00a0gifts given to former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a>, though Zabludowicz was not ultimately listed as a suspect in Netanyahu\u2019s corruption trial.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The trust has long been targeted by boycotts organized by pro-Palestinian activists. Some created a group called BDZ\/Boycott Zabludowicz \u2014 a spin on the term BDS, referring to the international boycott, divestment and sanctions movement targeting Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cZabludowicz Art Trust uses art and culture to artwash the Israeli state\u2019s ongoing racism and violence against Palestinians,\u201d BDZ\u00a0says on its website<\/a>. \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, after the last flareup of military hostilities between Israel and Hamas in Gaza,\u00a025 artists \u201cdeauthored\u201d their works<\/a>\u00a0because of their inclusion in the Zabludowicz Collection, according to ArtNet.<\/p>\n

In\u00a0a statement last year<\/a>, responding to the boycotts and de-authorizations, the Zabludowicz\u2019s voiced their support for a two-state solution.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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,\u201d the couple said.<\/p>\n

According to Kiasma, it has no power to expel individuals, particularly Finnish citizens, from the board of its support foundation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an organization operating under the Finnish state, the National Gallery and its museums cannot participate in boycotts directed at individual citizens,\u201d the museum said in\u00a0a statement.<\/a><\/p>\n

It added: \u201cWe participate in those boycotts and blockades to which the Finnish state has committed and directed us to.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nearly 130 Finnish artists will not be working with Kiasma …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13297,"featured_media":189416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,11],"tags":[],"section":[14928,14045],"coauthors":[12308],"yoast_head":"\nArtists Are Boycotting Finland\u2019s National Gallery Over an Israeli Billionaire on its Board - Jewish Exponent<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/artists-are-boycotting-finlands-national-gallery-over-an-israeli-billionaire-on-its-board\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Artists Are Boycotting Finland\u2019s National Gallery Over an Israeli Billionaire on its Board - Jewish Exponent\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nearly 130 Finnish artists will not be working with Kiasma ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/artists-are-boycotting-finlands-national-gallery-over-an-israeli-billionaire-on-its-board\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jewish Exponent\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jewishexponent\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-12-09T14:00:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-12-08T20:44:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/12-7-22-Finnish-National-Gallery-2048x1138-1-e1672332378231.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"445\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"JTA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@jewishexponent\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@jewishexponent\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"JTA\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/artists-are-boycotting-finlands-national-gallery-over-an-israeli-billionaire-on-its-board\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/artists-are-boycotting-finlands-national-gallery-over-an-israeli-billionaire-on-its-board\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"JTA\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/#\/schema\/person\/cb0f703e468e172d7553b0448c58dbbd\"},\"headline\":\"Artists Are Boycotting Finland\u2019s National Gallery Over an Israeli Billionaire on its Board\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-09T14:00:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-08T20:44:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/artists-are-boycotting-finlands-national-gallery-over-an-israeli-billionaire-on-its-board\/\"},\"wordCount\":587,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/artists-are-boycotting-finlands-national-gallery-over-an-israeli-billionaire-on-its-board\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/12-7-22-Finnish-National-Gallery-2048x1138-1-e1672332378231.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Headlines\",\"World\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/artists-are-boycotting-finlands-national-gallery-over-an-israeli-billionaire-on-its-board\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/artists-are-boycotting-finlands-national-gallery-over-an-israeli-billionaire-on-its-board\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/artists-are-boycotting-finlands-national-gallery-over-an-israeli-billionaire-on-its-board\/\",\"name\":\"Artists Are Boycotting Finland\u2019s National Gallery Over an Israeli Billionaire on its Board - 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