The Weltkunstschau in Kassel once again shows the worst hatred of Jews. Nevertheless, the management continues to refuse to check the exhibitions for anti-Semitic works. Documenta is officially morally bankrupt.
What is the difference between the documenta in Kassel and the anti-Semitic caricature competition in Tehran, which the Iranian mullahs regularly organize? The bitter answer: obviously not much.
In the already seemingly endless series of anti-Semitism scandals, another scandal has now been added: According to the findings of the Research and Information Center for Anti-Semitism Hessen (RIAS Hessen), the worst anti-Jewish depictions are again being shown at the Documenta. This time in the Fridericianum, where a room is dedicated to the struggle of Algerian women for emancipation.
A facsimile brochure is exhibited there, in which all facets of anti-Semitism can be found, from the legend of child murder to anti-Jewish caricatures in “Stürmer” style, including a hooked nose, to rape fantasies.
Cleared the way for this, one must say so clearly, Documenta interim director Alexander Farenholtz. At the weekend he announced that he did not want to check the exhibitions for anti-Semitism.
Instead, the cultural manager ranted that “the Documenta as an exhibition is on an excellent course”. “The figures are very good, as is the mood.” No, it’s not. At least not in the Jewish community.
The Documenta is morally bankrupt. It is more than questionable whether the concept of the Kassel World Art Exhibition can ever work again after this failure in front of the whole world. The only right step now would be to finally end Documenta15, which will go down in history as the anti-Semitic “Documenta of Shame”.
As a reminder: After the art show opened in June, a massively anti-Jewish work by the Indonesian artist group Taring Padi was shown. Months earlier, accusations of anti-Semitism against the Indonesian curators ruangrupa had been raised.
They deliberately did not even invite Jewish artists from Israel. Instead, the BDS downplayer Emily Dische-Becker was employed, who gave tuition to members of the Documenta in matters of hatred of Israel, as a leaked video recently impressively showed.
Surf tip: You can find all the news about the corona pandemic in the FOCUS Online news ticker
Documenta fifteen was set up to finally give the “Global South” a voice. Rightly so. But only works from Indonesia, Algeria or Gaza that are clearly anti-Jewish will be remembered from this world art show.
If that is the much-vaunted perspective of the Global South, then please spare us that. Or never say “Never again” in Germany. We are already familiar with dehumanizing caricatures like those at the Documenta from recent German history – and their catastrophic consequences even more so.
This article first appeared in the “Jüdische Allgemeine”: documenta: terror without end. The author is the manager there.
