Culture minister booed, artist inserts flag in his backside at Haaretz conference

Culture Minister Miri Regev sparked a massive controversy at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art on Sunday when she opened her speech with three words that may have been construed as a declaration of war: "Cut the bullshit."

Speaking at the Haaretz newspaper culture conference titled "Culture Requires Independence," and facing overt protests over what artists perceive as her attempts to silence them, Regev did not spare the audience her criticism of certain artists and cultural figures whom she feels "act against the principles of the state."


Credit: Maya Cohen

Upon taking the stage, she was greeted by protesters who booed or placed masking tape over their mouths to symbolize being silenced and stifled.

"I was always told to start a speech with a quote," Regev said. "It makes for a cultured impression. So here goes. As the famed Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu once put it: 'Cut the bullshit.'"

Regev was immediately met with a swell of boos and criticism from the audience. As she continued her speech, Haaretz Editor-In-Chief Aluf Benn had to take the stage a number of times to ask the audience to quiet down and allow the minister to finish speaking.

Addressing the theme of the conference, Regev remarked that "no one is trying to undermine independence in culture. It is not your culture that requires independence. Your culture demands exclusive funding, while another culture is being silenced and excluded."

In the past, Regev has asserted that the cultural figures who receive state funding in Israel are almost exclusively Ashkenazi, while Mizrahi artists are generally overlooked.

"You," she continued, addressing Haaretz's liberal readers, "should have been its [the other culture's] chief advocates, but instead, you chose to silence it."

According to Regev, "The moment I started redirecting funds into institutions that until now had been neglected, I became the enemy of culture. [Until now,] the Culture Ministry has perpetuated cultural gaps and ignored the needs of ultra-Orthodox and the Arabs. I intend to end these injustices. I increased the pie by 150 million shekels, and the money won't go to the strong institutions; it will all go to the struggling sectors."

Since she assumed the post of culture minister, Regev has been promoting the loyalty in culture bill, which aims to enable the state to withhold funding from events and artists who denigrate symbols of the state or reject Israel's existence as a Jewish and democratic state.

At the Haaretz conference, Regev stressed that "no one is demanding that artists toe the government line. No one is afraid of criticism, even the most scathing criticism. No one is trying to silence you. But there is an enormous difference between harsh criticism and a call for a boycott or undermining the State of Israel. It is unthinkable that we will fund institutions that strive to undermine the very nature of the state's existence."

In response to the audience's audible criticism, she added, "You are not seeking [the right to] critique. You are looking to destroy everything that has been built here."

Several hours later, after reports emerged that Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon planned to oppose Regev's loyalty bill, she declared that though she did not plan to abandon the legislation, she did not want to enter into a conflict with the Finance Ministry. The two ministers agreed to appoint a committee representing the culture, finance and justice ministries which will try to reach a compromise on the legislation.

"The team will act jointly in an effort to discuss the issue and ensure that Israel's cultural institutions don't violate the law," Regev's bureau said in a statement.

After Regev's address, actor and director Oded Kotler criticized her, saying "politicians' need to also control culture is so great that only a complete separation between politics and [culture's] everyday arena will allow for any kind of growth."

Actress Yona Elian, who also attended the conference, said that "it truly saddens me. I am really sad. It shouldn't be like this."

Her colleague, actress Esti Zakheim, added, "I think we are speaking two different languages. It seems the culture minister has decided to sacrifice our culture on an altar of populism. Instead of representing culture and creativity in Israel, she is taking the thing into the political arena. To the Right and to the Left. The only person undermining culture and creativity is the culture minister."

'Shoving an Israeli flag into a rear end is not art'

Regev's speech was not the only controversy at the conference. A performance art piece named "Love the Juice" that followed her address saw artist Ariel Bronz being jeered and throwing oranges at the audience (which they threw back at him), turning his rear to the audience, and finally, inserting a flag in his backside. His final act prompted organizers to lower the curtain, cut the music and force the artist off the stage despite his protests.

During the performance, calls could be heard to end the piece and several audience members left the venue. The organizers were surprised at the artist's provocation and apologized for the piece "getting out of hand."

In response, Regev later wrote on her Facebook page that "shoving an Israeli flag into a rear end is not art. It is debasement of the flag, the same flag that soldiers and civilians in Israel are dying for. Not only is it not funny, it makes me want to cry. Is this culture? Are these cultural figures? This is what they want me to fund? Absolutely not."

Regev instructed the director of her ministry to look into possible legal action against the artist.

Bronz told Army Radio on Sunday that he had not planned the piece in advance.

"That is not my artistic vision," he stressed. "I acted in the heat of the moment."

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