The Diplomat
The president of the International Council of Museums in Israel (ICOM Israel), Raz Samira, has sent a letter to the executive board of the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid calling for an “urgent” revision of the title of the exhibition “From the River to the Sea”, stressing that it is the slogan used by those who want to destroy the Israeli state.
The exhibition, whose full title is “From the river to the sea. International Solidarity with Palestine”, had already been denounced by the Israeli Embassy in Spain, which considers it to be part of what it describes as a “wave of anti-Semitism” in our country.
In his letter, the president of ICOM Israel expresses his concern above all about the title “From the river to the sea”, which appears on the official website of the Reina Sofia, especially given the current political climate, and considers it “misleading” that it is spoken of as “a poetic slogan”. He recalls that it has recently been described in countries such as the United States as “a genocidal call to violence to destroy the State of Israel” and banned in others, such as Germany.
He further explains that “From the River to the Sea” goes back to the founding charter of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), adopted in 1964 (before 1967) and that the PLO’s declaration was made in parallel to the denial of the partition of Palestine and the creation of Israel, calling in fact for the suppression of the State of Israel.
He further stresses that in that letter, the PLO does not claim sovereignty over the West Bank and Gaza, and that today, more than 7 million Jews reside in that region within their state by right, as determined by international agreements, starting with the UN Partition Plan (Resolution 181) and subsequent ones.
The president of (ICOM Israel) also reproaches the leaders of the Reina Sofia Museum that the programme refers to “the emergency situation that Gaza has been in since October 2023” without acknowledging or even hinting at – he states – “the heinous act of terror and massacre of innocent civilians committed on October 7, in Gaza” and after which, 133 people still held hostage by Hamas, including children, women and the elderly, are still being held hostage in Gaza.
“While we share the concern for the future of the region, the welfare of its people and the preservation of cultural heritage, we are appalled by your programme. He reminds museum officials that article 4.2 of the ICOM code of ethics obliges museums to provide well-founded information.
It therefore calls on them to “strive to defend cultural values rather than fuel tensions and provoke further animosity”, and urges them to change the title and revise the programme “so that it truly reflects,” it says, “efforts for a better future for all the inhabitants of the region”. The letter ends by imploring condemnation of Hamas and its allies.
