SHAFAQNA- An exhibition featuring artworks about the holy city of Jerusalem al-Quds has been underway for over a year in the German city of Berlin and is going to end on May 1, 2019. Held at the city’s Jewish Museum, the exhibition has drawn Israel’s criticisms, which accuses it of supporting BDS and anti-Israeli propaganda.
“Welcome to Jerusalem” is the title of an exhibition that has been underway in the Jewish Museum Berlin, JMB, since December 2017 and will wrap up its work on May 1, 2019. The exhibition that displays art works by international artists includes photos, documentaries, films, paintings, maps, sculptures and models. They address different aspects of the “Holy Land” and the daily life of citizens of a city, revered by the three monotheistic religions: Islam, Judaism and Christianity.
Importance of Jerusalem from Religious perspective
Jerusalem or as Muslims call it al-Quds is home to churches, mosques, synagogues and its fate is the thorny issue that has grounded to halt all the so-called peace talks and peace processes between Israelis and Palestinians, mediated by the international community since the 1991 Oslo Accords.
The importance of Jerusalem al-Quds as a holy city for Muslims, Jews and Christians stems from the role it has had in each of the three Abrahamic religions:
Jews believe that the God made a deal with the Prophet Ibrahim and his descendants on the hill where the Temple would be later built. They think the Temple Mount known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif or Al-Aqsa Mosque the “Noble Sanctuary” is the site of God’s Eternal promise, the place where the second Solomon Temple should be constructed and where history will end.
According to the New Testament, Jesus Christ was crucified and resurrected at a piece of land where the Church of the Holy Sepulcher or the Church of the Resurrection now stands. Therefore, millions of Catholic and Orthodox Christians every year visit the city as well as its famous churches.
In Islam, the Al-Aqsa Mosque is not only the first Qibla but also the third most important mosque after the Grand Haram and the Prophet’s Mosque in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia. The Haram al-Sharif is also the venue of the Mi’raj or Isra, the night where according to Islamic tradition the Prophet Mohammad (S) ascended into the heavens, met all the previous prophets and prayed with them. The Holy Quran confirms the Prophet began his journey from the rock where the Dome of Rock or Qubbat Al-Sakhrah Mosque has been built on.
From Jerusalem to Berlin
There are many churches in the German city of Berlin allude to Jerusalem al-Quds. They are Golgotha, the Holy Cross, Zion, or Gethsemane. These churches were built in the nineteenth century where public interest in the Holy land and the return of Jesus Christ was on the rise. However, historians believe the connection between the two cities in the West and the East dates back to the Crusades and the Jerusalem Church and the district of Tempelhof (Temple Court) were established in that period. The Palestinian community who migrated to Germany hold the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque dear and images of the two mosques are hanging in stores, cafes, snack bars, homes and walls in the Neukölln district, southeast of Berlin.
Israeli meddling in Germany’s cultural event
Only days following the opening of the “Welcome to Jerusalem” exhibition Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged German Chancellor Angela Merkel to cut funding to the exhibition which he claimed was reflecting Palestinians and Muslims’ narrative of the holy land. Netanyahu accused several organizers and the museum itself of being involved in anti-Israeli propaganda or the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS) against the Zionists. The Jewish Museum announced that it believes “Open dialog on controversial issues is crucial to allow visitors to form their own position on this matter and judge it for themselves”. One of the organizers, the Heinrich Boll Foundation, dismissed Israel’s allegations as “absurd”.
Nevertheless, the scandals did not end. In March 2019, Israeli media again accused the museum of serving as a location for anti-Israel policies by hosting an Iranian diplomat. The head of Iranian Embassy’s Cultural Council, Seyed Ali Moujani visited the event at the invitation of the museum’s director Professor Peter Schafer. In response, the museum said, “Professor Schafer and Mr. Moujani discussed the possibility of an exhibition of the artworks of Iranian Jews from 19th and 20th centuries”.
Israel’s pressures finally forced the Jewish Museum Berlin to ban Iranian state broadcaster from reporting about the event on allegation that the IRIB spreads anti-Zionist, anti-Semitism propaganda, DW reported. The German press association condemned the decision, saying, “It ran counter to the spirit of free reporting in Germany”.
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Photos: Beautiful Jerusalem, Palestine