Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters has in a controversy at York University in Toronto, where businessman Paul Bronfman has demanded the removal of a painting that shows a Palestinian holding stones as he faces a bulldozer.
Waters addressed his letter to Bronfman, who pulled financial support from the university over the artwork, which he called âpure hate.â
Waters wrote that Bronfman is wrong to âuse his economic muscleâ to try and force removal of âPalestinian Roots,â which is displayed in the York University Student Centre, a building on campus that houses the York Federation of Students.
Waters writes that the Palestinian depicted in the artwork âhas a legal and moral right, under the terms of article 4 of the Geneva conventions to resist the occupation of his homeland,â adding that protesting Israelâs policy is not anti-Semitic, and is in fact âa moral duty.â
âHappily York University students and faculty members seem to recognize that protest is ok, and that freedom of speech is a fundamental right and not for sale to the likes of you,â Waters writes.
Avi Benolo, director of the non-profit Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre in Toronto, has called the painting âa call to murderâ and said âthe Jewish community will continue to call for inclusion and for freedom from victimization, marginalization and antisemitism.â
York University President Mamdouh Shoukri after Bronfmanâs comments stating âit is clear that the subject of the artwork is offensive to some individuals and groups, particularly Jewish members of our community.â
âThe Student Centre ... is a separate and distinct legal entity from the University,â Shoukri went on. âWe sincerely hope that they will address the concerns which have been expressed.â
Shoukri described three actions that York will take to support the universityâs commitment to âensuring all students feel comfortable and safe on campus,â including an advisory committee on inclusion and a policy review.
Shoukri reiterated that âwe will hold firm to our position that the university does not support academic boycotts,â apparently a reference a boycott of Israeli academics that is supported by the York Federation of Students.
Artist Ahmad Al Abid in a statement on the York Federation of Students website as depicting the relationship âbetween the defenseless, the antagonist and the âother.ââ
The man is âfluttered with conflicting emotions, implications and potential consequences of action,â Al Abidâs statement goes on. âWith each of these factors pulling him towards a different route of discourse, we find him calculating his next move.â