Tel Aviv University shut down The Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance art exhibit that is being held on campus, due to pressure from the Chinese regime.
The Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance art exhibit contains 25 paintings by 17 world class artists, depicting the Falun Gong spiritual practice and the brutal persecution to which followers of the practice are subjected by the Communist authorities in China. Some of the artists are survivors of China's forced labor camps, and have endured the tortures they depict.
According to the original agreement between the organizers of the exhibition and the Tel Aviv University Student Association, the exhibition, co-sponsored by the Student Association, was scheduled for March 3 through March 14.
Two days after the opening ceremony, the organizers received a phone call from the Student Association saying the exhibit had to be shut down immediately; later they were told that the exhibition could continue until Friday. According to Yaniv Nitzan, one of the organizers of the exhibition and a student of East Asian studies, the Student Association reported that the decision to shut down the exhibit was made by the University's top management, and that the Chinese Embassy in Israel pressured the University in this regard.
"It is important to ask why the Chinese Embassy threatens a university because of an art exhibit," said Nitzan. "I think the answer is clear," he continued. "The exhibition displays paintings of the banned Falun Gong spiritual practice and the torture the practitioners in China are suffering from."
The Tel Aviv University dean of students said in an interview with NTDTV that when the Chinese Embassy asked on opening night that the exhibition be shut down, the University explained that Israel supports freedom of speech, and thus the exhibition would continue to run. In spite of this, University management decided to shut down the exhibition one week earlier than planned.
The art exhibition was seen by hundreds of students and staff members, including students from mainland China who are in Israel on exchange programs, and received overwhelmingly positive feedback.
Raz Shapira, a 24-year-old freshmen studying art history, said that artistically speaking, the paintings are very beautiful and are beautifully painted. She added that she knows about the persecution of Falun Gong and would tell all her friends to come and see the exhibit.
Shira from Tel Aviv also came to the exhibit opening, and described the exhibit as very powerful, and that the paintings were very beautiful and "dream-like," while at the same time, the theme of the paintings was shocking and hard to take.
Organizers of the exhibition told The Epoch Times that actions by the university authorities, under the Communist regime's threats, are a breach of contract and violation of the freedom of speech as set by law. The organizers are prepared to file an injunction, though they still hope to correct the situation through dialogue.
Visit the official web site for the "Truth, Compassion, Tolerance" art exhibition.
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