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by Elias Feroz | Interviewer

The Jewish Museum in Vienna has disinvited the father-son artist duo, Elias and Gideon Mendel, from participating in the planned exhibition titled “I Am My Family: The Generations after the Holocaust” due to their criticism of the Israeli government. Despite the artists’ subsequent publication of an open letter on Instagram questioning the integrity of the museum’s leadership in determining the exhibition’s participants, the museum’s management has yet to issue a public statement on the matter. In an effort to address this regrettable turn of events, Elias Mendel provided an exclusive interview to offer clarity on the situation.

Elias Mendel is a London-born multidisciplinary artist who works in various mediums, including stop-motion animation, drawing, projection, performance, and photography. His practice explores themes of identity, migration, and generational trauma. With a profound connection to his family’s German Jewish history and archive, Mendel is a self-taught artist, creating emotive and instinctual pieces that form an interdisciplinary, emotion-led creative archival memory practice. As a descendant of Holocaust survivors, Mendel has access to a vast family collection of letters, documents, and photographs. This archive chronicles his ancestors’ lives in Germany from the 18th century through to the First World War, the Holocaust, migration, and diasporic life in apartheid-era South Africa and elsewhere.

Elias Feroz studied Islamic religion and history as part of a teacher training program and also works as a freelance writer. Among other topics, he writes about issues such as racism, anti-Semitism, and Islamophobia, as well as the politics of history and the culture of remembrance.

In an open letter that you and your father, Gideon Mendel, posted on Instagram in response to an online meeting with the Jewish Museum Vienna, you described that at the beginning of December 2023, you were disinvited from an exhibition titled “I am my Family: The Generations after the Holocaust,” which was planned by various descendants of Holocaust survivors and victims. What was the museum management’s justification for disinviting you?

The management of the museum was worried about my father’s support for boycott as a peaceful form of political resistance against the illegal occupation of Palestinian land, and eventually also about my solidarity with him, although the exhibition itself was not about Israel, Palestine, or the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. We wanted to contribute with our art to the history of our ancestors, who were persecuted and killed in Austria and Germany for being Jews.

They feared that our support for a boycott or our criticism of Israel could distract from the actual content of the exhibition. They told us that they were worried about losing their jobs, even though some members of the staff privately agreed with our criticism towards the Israeli government. The problem is: if you’re doing an exhibition about Jewish voices who are descendants of victims of the Holocaust or people who survived the Holocaust and lost their families in Austria and Germany, then you need all voices, right? Not having dissident or critical voices completely negates the point of the exhibition itself.

In the letter, you also make it clear that you generally support “boycott” as a peaceful political form of resistance but that you are not part of the BDS movement, which is classified as anti-Semitic in Austria and Germany. Can you explain this in more detail?

The museum’s staff was referring to an incident that happened in 2019 in the context of the famous “Prix Pictet” photography award. In connection with this award, there was a touring exhibition which included an exhibition in Israel. Among the works of other artists, the exhibition also intended to feature the work of a Bangladeshi photographer named Shahidul Alam, who was initially opposed to this idea due to his support for a boycott and criticism of Israel. He was specifically critical of Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory. My father, Gideon, withdrew from this group show as well, in solidarity with Shahidul Alam and the Palestinians.

My father and I are aware that in Germany or Austria, the word “boycott” has much more negative connotations than in the UK or South Africa. In South Africa, when you think of “boycott,” you think of protests against apartheid, whereas in Germany, the word “boycott” reminds people of Nazis boycotting Jewish shops and Jewish businesses. That’s why the word is contentious. But I think that it’s still important to understand our perspective. Horrible violence is happening every day in Gaza and the West Bank, and boycotting is a non-violent and peaceful method to oppose these actions. If we have no option, if we can’t boycott, if we can’t take any political action, what is left to do?

The BDS movement as a political group has been criticized at times for not doing enough to combat anti-Semitism. Nevertheless, I don’t think that BDS as such has bad intentions, although I am not part of it. Apart from that, my father’s support for the boycott was directed before the Hamas attacks on the 7th of October, and as I mentioned, we are opposing Israel’s military occupation and how Israel is treating Palestinian life.

So, the museum was concerned about how this incident might affect the museum’s image?

Exactly. It was very clear at the beginning of our last online meeting with the management that they had made their decision before talking to us.

You also mentioned in your open letter that your ethical position concerning boycotts is strongly influenced by your Jewish family history in Austria and Germany. Can you go more into detail about this?

Considering our family history in Austria and Germany, with my great-grandmother being killed in the Holocaust and numerous other family members being killed—some in Vienna, losing their homes and lives—our connection to Austria and Germany is deeply scarred. Due to our Jewish background, my family faced rejection and brutal persecution that led to the deaths of many of our relatives. Therefore, it is both shocking and ironic for the museum in Vienna to label us as anti-Semitic for supporting a peaceful protest.

My grandparents from my father’s side immigrated to South Africa, where he also grew up. The irony was that my family transitioned from facing oppression in Germany to a different racialized state in South Africa, characterized by white and black separation and the oppression of black South Africans. Growing up in that period, my father, a photographer documenting violence against South Africans, drew parallels between that situation and the plight of Palestinians. He observed the effectiveness of the global peaceful protests during that time, including mass boycotts and cultural boycotts. This approach applied pressure on both the civilian population and the government to reconsider their actions. Hence, labeling the boycott of Israeli goods as anti-Semitic, solely because it involves Jewish goods, is very sad. It also overlooks Jewish individuals and voices outside of Israel.

Did the museum in Vienna call you or your actions “antisemitic” during the meeting?

They called the boycott itself antisemitic, not us directly. But the conclusion would be that we are antisemitic because we are supporting the boycott.

You are not the only ones who have been disinvited by various institutions in recent weeks and months because of their political positions. Another example is the South African-Jewish artist Candice Breitz, as well as the Palestinian author Adania Shibli. What do you think is the difficulty in the overall public discourse in Austria and Germany?

Apart from being an artist, I am also conducting workshops and trying to educate people about anti-Semitism. I find it peculiar that, especially in Germany but also in Austria, there is a fear of being labeled “anti-Semitic,” leading to the paradoxical situation that the chosen approach is to support an ethno-nationalist occupying force.

Criticizing this stance is then deemed “anti-Semitic.” Consequently, if Jews express criticism towards Israel, perceived as synonymous with Jewish identity, they are paradoxically labeled as anti-Semitic. It appears that this approach to fighting anti-Semitism takes a full circle and becomes a form of anti-Semitism in itself. Hence, the risk of supporting a far-right Israeli government will, as a consequence, lead people to not know the difference between real anti-Semitism and criticism of the Israeli government.

Have you been in Germany or Austria recently?

I was in Germany in November for an exhibition of mine.

How do you perceive the mood towards artists who express criticism of Israel’s right-wing government?

I also took part in protests when I was in Germany, and I think the reaction of the police was terrible. The shutting down of critical dissident voices of Palestinians and of people in solidarity with Palestinians being arrested for wearing a Kufiyah [Palestinian scarf]. I know people who were arrested for having placards saying, “From the falafel to the shawarma,” in line with placards saying, “From the river to the sea.”

As a Jew who does not agree with the actions of Israel’s government, it is very difficult now in Germany. Especially as an artist who is making art about the Holocaust but doesn’t identify with Zionism. I define myself and regard myself as a “diasporist.” So, I believe in the celebration of the diaspora and the diasporic family that I have and that other people have as well. I think this is a much more positive conversation than ideas of nationalism. We should celebrate that we are global people.

What do you think about the phrase “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”? A lot of people in Europe (including Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community) regard this phrase as antisemitic.

Considering this phrase to be anti-Semitic is one possible interpretation. However, I do not agree with this interpretation. I see it as a call for equality and liberation from occupation. Once again, the reaction to frame this chant as “anti-Semitic” per se shows an oversimplification in the discourse. It is very difficult for people who do not support Hamas or the Israeli government to be heard because the public discourse only wants to see these two sides.

Have you been disinvited by other institutions as well?

No, the disinvitation from the Jewish Museum in Vienna was the first time I’ve been disinvited.

Your art is also strongly influenced by your family history, which is why “trauma” and “culture of remembrance” are central themes of your artistic contribution. Do you see the culture of remembrance of the Holocaust in Austria, Germany, or Israel at risk due to the disinvitation?

I think even before the 7th of October, when I was living in Berlin for a couple of months, I investigated all the Holocaust memorials. I did a self-portrait in front of every single Jewish memorial to reclaim the place and question why I’m welcome there. I didn’t feel very welcome in these places that are meant to commemorate the Jewish people.

I think Germany’s issue is that they are very good at knowing what to do with dead Jews. They’re very happy to put up memorials all around their country and all around their city. They are very happy to pretend to feel very sad about what happened, but they don’t know what to do with living Jews, or at least I experienced that a lot of Germans feel very uncomfortable when I am present.

What lessons do you draw from the Holocaust, and what is important about teaching antisemitism to you?

I think it’s very important to ensure the visibility of different Jewish voices and not to silence them. It’s ironic that Jewish voices are again being silenced in Germany and Austria just because we don’t agree with what is happening in Gaza. We see innocent Palestinian civilians and children die, and we have a right to oppose the reaction of the Israeli military to the Hamas attacks. What is happening right now is that the population of Gaza is collectively punished for the Hamas attacks. But Hamas doesn’t represent all Palestinians, and Israel doesn’t represent all Jewish people around the world or even the Jews who are living in Israel.

There are a lot of lessons that we can learn from the Holocaust. One of them is to recognize and resist fascism. The lessons I take from the Holocaust are to speak out and to try to be heard. A lot of people were silent during the Shoah, although they knew what was happening. We should also be critical of the phrase “never again.” I think this phrase is problematic.

Why do you regard this phrase as problematic?

Although I also think that it is problematic to compare the Holocaust and the actions of the Nazis with other events or groups, since 1945 there’s been many different genocides. Each one of them is unique, but genocidal acts didn’t stop with the end of the Holocaust. “Never again” shouldn’t only apply to the Jews because the Jews weren’t the only people who suffered in the Holocaust. It was the Cinti and Roma communities, homosexuals, communists, etc.

I think the idea that these horrible things should never happen again is right, but at the same time, “never again” is an empty phrase. It has happened again and again. Just think about the genocide in Rwanda for example. We need to be able to have an open and critical discourse about these things. In contrast, the decision of the Jewish Museum in Vienna to remove our voices from the exhibition and disregard our presence as if we never existed is the exact opposite of how we can move forward.

What role can artists currently play in relation to the situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories, as well as in relation to anti-Semitism? What contribution can they make?

I think art can be a way of being critical and of speaking out at times when people don’t want to hear or don’t want to see. It’s much easier sometimes to see an exhibition or watch a video than it is to read an essay. It’s a way of reaching more people. I believe art is an innate form of human expression. Art is a form of protest, and it must be protest against injustice, no matter if it’s related to injustice towards Jews, Palestinians, or any other group or individual.

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The Art Of Peace: How Art Can Help Stop The War Between Israel and Palestine

Interview submitted by Elias Feroz. The World Art News (WAN) is not liable for the content of this publication. All statements and views expressed herein are opinions only. Act at your own risk. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission. © The World Art News