Those who don't fall in line – pay: Right-wing artists reveal the truth about Bezalel

Artists, graduates, and lecturers from the right wing claim that for years they were forced to conceal their political views at art institutions, particularly at Bezalel, and paid a professional price for it. Now they are breaking their silence, describing pressure to align with the prevailing political discourse, and seeking to restore Jewish, Zionist, and conservative creation to the academy. The article reviews past controversies, the protest against the judicial reform, and the interviewees' call for creating an artistic alternative.

Artists, graduates, and lecturers identified with the right wing claim that in Israel's art institutions, particularly at Bezalel, a political space has been created where left-wing and progressive views are widely expressed, while creation identified with Judaism, Zionism, or the right is met with suspicion and exclusion. The interviewees describe pressure to align with the prevailing political discourse and a professional price they paid for their views. The article reviews notable events, including a 2016 poster showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alongside a noose, and the protest against the judicial reform in 2023, in which members of the institution took an active part. The interviewees call for creating an alternative artistic space, where Jewish, Zionist, and national creation does not need to apologize for its existence. The article presents the struggle over the character of the Israeli art world as a struggle between Zionism and post-Zionism.