Polish artist denounces Israel's atrocities in Gaza!

Polish artist denounces Israel's atrocities in Gaza!

Warsaw, Poland - Warsaw, Poland - In a courageous act of provocation, the Polish artist Igor Dobrowolski has drawn attention to the alleged atrocities of Israeli soldiers in Gaza. In a shocking performance work of art that took place in March, Dobrowolski dressed in a purple overall and sat down a yellow sack. On a video that he released on Instagram, you can see him kneeling on a concrete floor, with tied hands, while an actor dressed in Khaki, which plays an Israeli soldier, holds up a stick with laughing emojis-an allusion to the live broadcasts of alleged war crimes on social media.

in the performance, Dobrowolski urinated for fear, which is reminiscent of the humiliating scenes that were recorded in videos of Israeli soldiers. "When you look at films over the Holocaust, they are very serious. The perpetrators are presented as emotionless. But the genocide that happens today seems to be very funny," explains Dobrowolski. This year he dealt intensively with the topic of the Israeli genocide on the Palestinians, which is a delicate matter in Poland, which is fighting with his own Holocaust story.

break a taboo

The memory of the Holocaust, in which over three million Jews were killed in Poland occupied by the Nazis, makes it unimaginable for many Poles to criticize Israel. According to a survey by the IBRIS Institute in May 2023, more than 66 percent of Poland believes that Poland should remain neutrally in the Israel Palestine conflict. But the tensions between Poland and Israel keep flames up, especially about the memory of the Holocaust and politics. In 2018, Poland passed a controversial law that made it illegal to suggest Poland's complicity to Nazi crimes.

Dobrowolski has heard not only in galleries, but also at the gates of Auschwitz-Birkenau with provocative messages. During a performance, the Palestinian ambassador in Poland, Mahmoud Khalifa, Dobrowolski and thanked for his work. Despite the recognition, Dobrowolski is also exposed to sharp criticism. "I know that the discussion of the situation in Palestine can harm my career. But if I am silent, I can no longer look into the mirror," he says.