Mick Hartley

Further to my earlier post on "artwashing" – "Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art caved to radical student activists last month, severing ties with prominent Jewish philanthropists Candida and Zak Gertler after a targeted campaign against their personal relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu" – this from the JC:

A major Jewish arts patron has resigned from all her voluntary positions within UK arts institutions over the “alarming rise of antisemitism” and “the tacit normalisation of hate” in her sector.

Candida Gertler, co-founder of the Outset Contemporary Art Fund, announced her decision after Goldsmiths’ Centre for Contemporary Art at the University of London said on Monday that it would remove her and her husband’s names from one of its galleries and its donor board, following a months-long boycott by anti-Israel activists.

The move comes after more than 1,100 artists and art workers signed an open letter calling on Tate to cut ties with Outset. Signatories of the letter include the current Turner Prize nominee Jasleen Kaur, as well as past Turner Prize winners Helen Cammock, Lawrence Abu Hamdan and Charlotte Prodger, according to Art Newspaper.

Outset, which Gertler co-founded in 2003, has raised over £16 m ($20.3 million) for the arts, earning her an OBE “for services to Contemporary Visual Arts and Arts Philanthropy”.

The fund also contributes to Israeli art institutions, and Gertler is a committee member of the British Friends of Art Museums in Israel.

Gertler is married to billionaire German-British real estate developer Zak Gertler, who reportedly hosted Benjamin Netanyahu’s 70th birthday party in 2019 and donated to the prime minister’s political campaigns.

Gertler wrote in her resignation letter: “It is with profound reflection and a heavy heart that I announce my resignation from all voluntary positions within UK arts institutions. This decision comes not out of fear, weakness, or defeat, but as an act of principled protest against the alarming rise of antisemitism and the tacit normalization of hate within physical and online spaces meant to foster creativity and inclusion.

“As someone who has dedicated much of my life to supporting contemporary art, championing dialogue, and creating platforms for diverse voices, I can no longer stand silent when institutions, intimidated by violent and aggressive activism that dismisses dialogue, or any kind of communication fails to uphold the foundational values of equality and respect. Recent revelations of vile antisemitic sentiments in these spaces have shocked and appalled me. These are not isolated incidents but part of a broader culture that seeks to marginalise and dehumanise Jews…."

Philanthropists donating their money to help art and artists in the UK, but their money isn't wanted – because they're Jewish. This is where we are.