(JTA) — Artwork by Palestinian children illustrating the Gaza War was shown in an outdoor venue after a California children’s museum canceled the display under pressure from the community.
The exhibit "A Child’s View From Gaza," created by children aged 9 to 11, was displayed recently in a downtown Oakland courtyard. It will be on display for two months in a space a one-minute walk from the Museum of Children’s Art in Oakland, which had scheduled a mid-September opening for the show before canceling.
The exhibit of pictures showing bombs falling and people being struck by them, as well as tanks firing, was organized by the Middle East Children’s Alliance.
The Alliance told the Oakland Tribune that it was approached by the children’s museum on Sept. 22 about rescheduling the event.
A statement from museum board member Randolph Belle explained that "When we canceled the exhibit ‘A Child’s View from Gaza’ earlier this month, we did so both because we lacked a formal policy for sensitive content and because we were not confident that we had the resources to deal with the numerous concerns we received regarding the exhibit. In response to input from the community and careful consideration by our board of directors and staff, the Museum of Children’s Art has developed a new policy governing the exhibition of items with sensitive content."
