Real Children's Art from Gaza

An exhibit of children's art from Gaza is currently on exhibit in London, at the London Muslim Centre.

A photo essay of the art is shown at the UK's "Guardian"






"Gaza's children reveal their hopes and fears – in pictures
The children of al-Zarqa, one of the Gaza Strip's poorest areas, have been affected by a conflict outside their control. An exhibition of drawings made by primary school children from the area, which was damaged during a three-week military assault in 2009, is on show in Whitechapel. It highlights a collective yearning for a clean, safe neighbourhood"


So, does anyone remember the controversial Gaza art exhibit "A child's view of Gaza" from Oakland of last year?

Part of the controversay was, well, the drawings seemed rather, professional.
From FresnoZionism:



".....The Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) claims that the pictures were drawn by children from 9 to 11 years of age. That’s nonsense. Look at the drawing above. Note how the viewer’s eye is drawn to the slightly off-center focal point, the child cowering in the corner, the suggestion of despair evoked by the black shading around him. Look at the effective representation of the soldier’s face with a few strokes. Look at the sureness of the lines, the bold strokes. Whoever drew this was either an adult artist or a remarkable prodigy, sophisticated both artistically and politically."





"The paintings (color drawings) are highly sophisticated especially in relationship to detail. Did you see the barbed wire? Also, there is a carefully drawn Star of David in each work. The authenticity of the painting is remarkable for a child’s hand. The drawing of the planes and helicopters, the man in the tower, the dynamic brushstrokes that are well conceived and controlled all seem to project a more mature approach to art. Could these “children” be in their late teens, college age, or young adults [MECA says they were 9 to 11 years old]? According to the the quote, “much of the artwork was produced by children.” I wonder how “much”? Also, it is possible that the “children” were directed by an adult who supervised and perhaps completed the initial drawing."

Artist and teacher Juniper in the Desert commented...

"As an artist and teacher I can safely say... They are faked to look like children, but the detail is too pointed and expert - the helicopters for instance. The proportions and stance of the woman and child are a creation of a professional. The boot and flag, the lines are not those of a child.?"





And the Elder of Ziyon pointed outremarkable resemblances between the "children's art" and American anti-Israel propaganda posters.

An artist commenting ay the Elder's site writes: :

"I've been an avocational artist my entire life and have some experience with the styles of amateurs. The sureness of the color application -- especially in the dense, complicated scenes (which are obviously all done by the same person) -- is at variance with the primitive (faux-primitve, frankly) nature of the sketching. It's the use of color especially that gives it away to me as the product of an older person. But the complexity of the composition in the big scenes is uncharacteristic of 9-11-year-olds as well. Certainly the politicized content is atypical.

The sureness of stroke in these pictures is something you almost never find from a very young artist. The biggest giveaway I see in this regard is not actually in the complex, refined drawings, but in the more primitive ones. For example, the confidence with which the concertina wire is sketched in, in one of the primitive crayon drawings, is just not characteristic of the young. I was accounted an exceptional artist in my K-12 years, and I couldn't have achieved that confident, bold, rapid-stroking effect until I was at least 16. It's one of the hardest things to do, and you really do lack the coordination and focus for it when you're younger. A kid would draw that laboriously, with a lot of short, stubby strokes strung together -- or he would simply achieve a cruder, less symmetrical and more tentative effect."

Compare and contrast the drawings exhibited in London, with those from the controversial MECA exhibit. Do you really still believe that the Middle east children's Alliance drawings were made by children?

Middle East Childrens Alliance does not meet Better Business Bureau standards for charity accountability

The venerable Better Business Bureau evaluates not only commercial enterprises, but non-profits as well. Their mission:

Creating a community of trustworthy businesses
* Setting standards for marketplace trust
*Encouraging and supporting best practices
*Celebrating marketplace role models, and;
*Denouncing substandard marketplace behavior

MECA- the Middle east Children's Alliance is, of course the organization that sought to punish the Oakland Museum of children's Art for not capitulating to their demands. Barbara Lubins group hijacked the facebook page of MOCHA, and coordinated two days of protests in front of the museum.

According to the Better Business Bureau, MECA fails to meet the BBB standards for charity accountability.

From the BBB website:

Evaluation Conclusions

Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA) does not meet the following 4 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Standard 6: Board Policy on Effectiveness - Have a board policy of assessing, no less than every two years, the organization's performance and effectiveness and of determining future actions required to achieve its mission.

MECA does not meet this Standard because:

The board of directors does not have a written policy stating that, at least every two years, an appraisal be done assessing the organization’s performance and effectiveness and determining future actions required to achieve its mission.
Standard 7: Board Approval of Written Report on Effectiveness - Submit to the organization's governing body, for its approval, a written report that outlines the results of the aforementioned performance and effectiveness assessment and recommendations for future actions.

MECA does not meet this Standard because:

It has never completed an effectiveness assessment, and does not have one planned in the near future.
Standard 11: Financial Statements - Make available to all, on request, complete annual financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. When total annual gross income exceeds $250,000, these statements should be audited in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. For charities whose annual gross income is less than $250,000, a review by a certified public accountant is sufficient to meet this standard. For charities whose annual gross income is less than $100,000, an internally produced, complete financial statement is sufficient to meet this standard.

MECA does not meet this Standard because:

Although the organization's income exceeded $250,000 for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2010, it states it does not have audited financial statements for the past fiscal year.
Standard 17: Web Site Disclosures - Include on any charity websites that solicit contributions, the same information that is recommended for annual reports, as well as the mailing address of the charity and electronic access to its most recent IRS Form 990.

MECA does not meet this Standard because the organization's website, www.mecaforpeace.org, does not include all of the recommended information for those charity websites that solicit for donations. Specifically, it does not include:

Electronic access to the organization’s most recent IRS Form 990.

In addition, the BBB Wise Giving Alliance requested but did not receive complete information on the organization’s governance and oversight and finances and is unable to verify the organization's compliance with the following 2 Standards for Charity Accountability: 3 and 13.


According to the BBB, Barbara Lubin, Executive Director of MECA has a salary of $103,700 and has 6 paid staff members. Fund raising costs amounted to 22% of related contributions.

With charities, as in all endeavors: Let the Buyer beware

Mocha board dismisses accusations of "Pressure" regarding Gaza children's art exhibit

Appearing on KQED radio, on Forum with Michael Krasny, Museum of Children's Art Board member Randolf Belle dismissed allegations of "pressure" in the decision of the Childrens Museum not to show the controversial exhibit. This was broadcast at 9:30, on Wednesday, September 28th.

According to Mr. Belle:

"This is absolutely not a matter of censorship because we would not have taken the show in the beginning. This was literally a matter of our capacity and resources to deal with this thing when it started getting out of hand. We may have made some missteps along the way just in the process but there was no funding at risk or anything like that. when we heard from enough parents that they did not want the images shown where their kids would be unsupervised looking at them we could not dismiss that."

Mr. Belle continued

"This became an absolute distraction and it started jeopardizing the organization.... Our mission is to keep the doors open for the 25,000 kids we serve per year, the 50+ schools, the 30 + people we employ..."

"Yes, we got calls from the Jewish Federation, but we also got calls from quite a few parents. That's who our audience is and they did not want the images up in our public spaces where their kids would be unsupervised"

Contrast that with the near hysterical claims of MECA Barbara Lubin: "Unfortunately, this disturbing incident is just one example of many across the nation in which certain groups have successfully silenced the Palestinian perspective, which includes artistic expression. Last year, the Jewish Federation of North America and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs launched a $6 million initiative to effectively silence Palestinian voices even in “cultural institutions.” It was all about the wealthy Jews, Lubin concluded: "All of us at MECA would like to extend our deepest thanks to the many friends and people of conscience who took a stand against the pro-Israel groups that use their enormous financial resources to silence Palestinian voices. "

The Museum of Childrens Art had proposed a compromise to MECA, offering to display the materials. It was ultimately refused. Instead, MECA chose to protest the museum, forcing children's birthday parties scheduled for the weekend to be cancelled. The children of Oakland ultimately became "collateral damage" as MECA forced their political agenda on the public.

Listen to the entire broadcast here.

For more information on the Gaza Childrens' Art Exhibit see:
Sides divided after children’s museum in Oakland cancels art show by Gaza kids

Museum was right to cancel Gaza kids’ art exhibit

Gaza children’s art finds new venue

How much adult influence went into the "childrens" art of Gaza?:

Protesting a Childrens Museum: Meca vs. Mocha

Protesting a Childrens Museum: A tale of two protests.

The Friday Protest:

Protest MOCHA's Cave-In
Friday, Sept. 23 at 3 p.m. Outside MOCHA, 538 Ninth St. near Clay, Oakland
(a few blocks from the 12th St.-City Center BART).
For more information, go to info@araborganizing.org
or call (415) 861-7444.
*For our Muslim brothers and sisters observing Friday Jum'ah, a lecture and prayer will be held at 1:45pm. It will led By Imam Suhaib Webb @ Lafayette square park (on 10th st between MLK and Jefferson st) (Off the 12 st bart station)

Sponsors: Afghans for Peace · Al Awda · American Muslims for Palestine · Arab Cultural and Community Center (ACCC) · Arab Film Festival · Arab Resource and Organizing Center · Asian Law Caucus · BAYAN USA · Bay Area Women in Black · Birthright Unplugged · Black Alliance for Just Immigration · Catalyst Project · CODEPINK Women for Peace · EastSide Arts Alliance · International Jewish
Anti-Zionist Network- Bay Area · International Socialist Organization · Israeli Committee Against House Demolition · Middle East Children's Alliance · Nor. Cal. Friends of Sabeel · Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) ·Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism (QUIT!) · San Francisco Women In Black · SuhaibWebb.com · US Palestinian Community Network · Zawaya

And Saturdays Protest.

This one is the Potemkin Protest, the one specifically orchestrated for the public:

“A Child’s View From Gaza,” an art exhibit by Palestinian children ages 8-14 that reflects their realities and their dreams for the future.
Saturday, September 24, 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Opening Reception will go on as planned!
September 24, 1-3pm 538 Ninth Street, downtown Oakland
Join us in the courtyard outside of MOCHA as we hold an opening celebration of the exhibit. In addition to the art, the opening includes:
Poetry by Deema Shehabi and Lorene Zouzounis
Edible art by The Great Tortilla Conspiracy
Special art activities for children
If you can volunteer, please contact sophia@mecaforpeace.org -- we need folks to help us hold the artwork.
And due to the last minute cancellation of this exhibit, MECA is working on securing another location so communities will have an ongoing opportunity to see this censored artwork. Stay tuned for details!
Since this is a celebration of the art and the children in Gaza who created this work, we want to keep the focus there; we kindly ask you NOT to bring your own signs to this event. Thanks
***********

Generally, the anti-Israel groups on the streets of San Francisco do not attempt to regulate the message of their protest, with hate speech and anti-Semitism overlooked and ignored.


But you can't have that in a well orchestrated publicity stunt, can you?

Protesting a Childrens Art Museum: MECA to MOCHA " Scorn us and Suffer"

In folklore, the vampire can not enter your home unless you invite him in. Now the Museum of Children's art in Oakland is experiencing just a taste of what happens once you let the vampire across your threshold. Lets hope other municipal institutions learn from their example, and never open their door, not even a crack, to the haters of Israel.

Our story continues:

Barbara Lubin of the Middle East Children's Alliance has called for a weekend of revenge against the Museum of Children Art in Oakland. Her compassion towards children doesn't extend to the children of Oakland, apparently. Her announcement follows:

The board of directors of Oakland’s Museum of Children’s Art cancelled “A Child’s View from Gaza,” a long-planned exhibit of Palestinian children’s drawings. The Jewish Community Relations Council and the Jewish Federation of the East Bay openly claim credit for forcing the MOCHA board to cancel the exhibit.
Protest MOCHA’s Cave-In
Friday, Sept. 23 at 3 p.m.
Outside MOCHA, 538 Ninth St. near Clay, Oakland
(a few blocks from the 12th St.-City Center BART)


The Bay Area and Oakland in particular are known for our diversity and commitment to free expression and social justice. We will not be censored. The show must go on!
Family-Friendly Grand Opening: “A Child’s View from Gaza”
Saturday, Sept. 24, 1-3 p.m.
Join us for art, music, poetry, and food to celebrate the
the opening of the exhibit outside MOCHA at 538 Ninth St.
near Clay, Oakland.

Note that the first protest is called for after Mocha is closed. Barbara knows that the displayed pictures will upset children - she know that video of upset children and parents will simply reinforce to Mocha that they made the right decision. You can't have that.

The second protest is "Family Friendly"- does that mean that the offending pictures wont be shown? Does that mean Barbara knows her original display was not "family friendly"?

Rev. Jack Shriver of the first Presbyterian Church in Oakland has offered to host the drawings. He is no stranger to controversy, having hosted the notorious "Never Again" tour several months back. So the "art" of the Children of Gaza has a venue, now. Barbara Lubins vendetta against the Museum is motivated simply by the need for revenge and her own personal intolerance.

The jury's still out on the influence of adults in the creation of this art. Its been suggested the children were told to model their drawings after Carlos Latuff.



What do you think?

MECA: The Middle East Childrens Alliance. Fanning the Flames of Conflict

Middle East Children´s Alliance (MECA) and its founder Barbara Lubin have dedicated considerable time and energy since 1988 demonizing the only Jewish state in the world.

From NGO Monitor:

According to the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) website, “[t]he Middle East Children’s Alliance is the fiscal sponsor for ISM-USA.” Donations for ISM’s campaign to “interfere with the construction of the annexation barrier” can be made to “MECA (ISM-USA Fund).”
MECA organizes delegations to “Palestine/Israel” where participants can “witness the impact of the Israeli occupation and…learn about refugees, land confiscation, political prisoners…” Trip highlights include learning “about the origins of the Palestinian refugees and the Right of Return, and how it can be implemented” (emphasis added).
MECA founder and Executive Director Barbara Lubin wrote “I think that the Jewish State is racist to the core.” Lupin refers to the 1948 “ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population” and wrote that “[t]he concept of ‘Jewish morality’ is truly dead. We can be fascists, terrorists, and Nazis just like everybody else.”
In an interview, MECA Director of Gaza Projects, Dr. Mona El-Farra, explained that MECA refused USAID funding because it came with the condition that they promise “not [to] give any help or any aid whatsoever for the families of the militiamen, or their relatives, or anyone related to ‘terrorist attacks’” because “we consider it resistance” (emphasis added).
MECA raised funds for British MP George Galloway’s “Viva Palestine” convoy “following the massacre in Gaza.”
Partners include pro-Palestinian groups such as Addameer, Badil, the Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, Bat Shalom, and Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP). Also partners with the Lajee Center, which refers to the “Israeli regime of Apartheid, colonization, and belligerent occupation.”

Its hard to ignore the hypocrisy of Barbara Lubin, currently whimpering "censorship" to anyone who will listen. The founder and executive director of MECA cut her activist teeth censoring others free speech. She was an organizer of a campaign to prevent Benyamin Netanyahu from speaking in Berkeley, nearly 11 years ago. Protesters, lead by Lubin forced the cancellation of a speech by Netanyahu, leading Berkeley Mayor Shirley Dean to declare "We must never, ever forget that Free Speech is for everyone, not just the politically correct."

From Sf Gate:

"Never in America have I waited, and been turned away from a paid lecture that was unofficially canceled by a mob shouting accusations at me," wrote ticket-holder Judy Norris. "Harassed, hassled, with accusations shouted at me and my friend, as though we were Uzi-carrying slayers of children, we, two quiet ladies from Moraga . . . wanted to hear both sides of the issue."

Yep. Thats Barbara Lubin and MECA.

Barbara Lubin also organized a disruption of the San Francisco Jewish Community Center four years ago, terrorizing the seniors, children and others who came to use the JCC’s services. Her justification? There were classes being held at the community center to commemorate Israel's 60th anniversary. Barbara and over a dozen "activists" were subsequently arrested for their 2 1/2 hour rampage.

Given the reputation and history of Barbara Lubin and MECA, her statement "For 23 years, MECA has been a witness to how pro-Israel organizations can intimidate groups and individuals " rings hollow. In truth, for years, the pro-Israel community has been a witness to Barbara and her followers resorting to lies, bullying and veritable temper tantrums, in an effort to stifle their opposition. The situation at the Museum of Childrens Art is just a continuation .

The Museum of Childrens Art in Oakland: The Controversy Continues

The controversy has not ended.


Here's yet another one of the "controversial" pieces of children's art from Gaza, that was originally scheduled to be displayed at the Museum of Childrens Art in Oakland, sponsored by MECA, the Middle Eastern Childrens Alliance. Maybe I'm being cynical, but why would children in Gaza print in English, unless they were being specifically coached to create a display for western consumption? If the claim that this art was created as part of a "psychosocial program that uses the arts and creative expression to help children in Gaza recover from trauma", why would they have children write in a language they were unfamiliar with?

Additionally, its recently been disclosed that Khalil Bendib, a cartoonist with a history of using classic anti-Semitic imagery had been commissioned to entertain and educate children at the MOCHA exhibit. Short of Carlos Latuff, I couldn't imagine a worse choice. And yet, "Jewish" Voice for Peace, oblivious as usual to the overt anti-Semitism and Jew baiting of this exhibit, has signed on as a co-sponsor.

Cecilie Surasky of JVP at the oxymoronic "Muzzlewatch" blog printed several of the pictures, consciously cherry picking art that excluded anti-American, anti-Semitic imagery .

Interesting enough, a previous exhibit of Palestinian children's art was shown in Berkeley in 2002, at La Pena, as part of a nationwide anti-Israeli tour. The art contained such universal messages of peace and brotherhood as "Death for Israel," "From North to South it's only Palestine" and "Bloodshed is the language of Israel."

Further controversy emerges from our friends at Fresnozionism pointing out the remarkable sophistication of the drawings, and questioning MECA's claim that they were drawn by children 9-11

"I showed them to a professor of Art at a local university. Here is what she said about them:

The paintings (color drawings) are highly sophisticated especially in relationship to detail. Did you see the barbed wire? Also, there is a carefully drawn Star of David in each work. The authenticity of the painting is remarkable for a child’s hand. The drawing of the planes and helicopters, the man in the tower, the dynamic brushstrokes that are well conceived and controlled all seem to project a more mature approach to art. Could these “children” be in their late teens, college age, or young adults [MECA says they were 9 to 11 years old]? According to the the quote, “much of the artwork was produced by children.” I wonder how “much”? Also, it is possible that the “children” were directed by an adult who supervised and perhaps completed the initial drawing."



Cecilie, we are all sure that you and Barbara and the entire Al Awda/ AROC cru will be exploiting this for as long as you can. Its not over yet.


UPDATE:
No, its not over. An ultimatum has been delivered to MOCHA by the "Israel is always wrong" folk. They are threatening a protest of MOCHA, and will show the "art" one way or another, either inside or out on Sept 24 from 1-3.

An Open Letter from MOCHA: The Museum of Childrens Art in Oakland

After much discussion and introspection the board of the Museum of Children's art cancelled the proposed exhibit of "art" from Gaza. Their explanation follows:


September 12, 2011

Open letter to the MOCHA community:

The Museum of Children’s Art (MOCHA) was founded as a place where children from all backgrounds could come together to make and celebrate art. MOCHA provides a safe place for children to express themselves through art, and produces programs that are intended to foster insight and understanding.
Our gallery is a multiuse space. Every week, hundreds of children utilize the space for drop-in art, school field trips, birthday parties, camps, and other events. Most children that visit MOCHA are between the ages of 5 and 9, and many children enter our gallery without the supervision of their parents.
With the exhibit A Child’s View from Gaza it was our intent, as it is with all our exhibits, to foster insight and understanding. We understand that, sadly, violence is a part of many children’s lives, and we remain committed to showing artwork that depicts the diverse realties of childhood across the world.
However, as an organization that serves a large and diverse community, we tried to balance this with the concerns raised by parents, caregivers and educators who did not wish for their children to encounter graphically violent and sensitive works during their use of our facility. MOCHA is a facility that must be accessible for our entire community. Although we worked to develop a way to separate the most violent images in the exhibit from our main studio spaces, we ultimately came to the conclusion that MOCHA is not currently set up to effectively accomplish this.
Recognizing this, the MOCHA Board of Directors decided to cancel this exhibit. It is important to note this was not a judgment of the art itself or related to any political opinions. The Board determined that MOCHA simply did not have the space or staffing to accommodate the exhibit in a way that both respected the gravity of the material and our mission to serve all children.
We regret that we did not make this determination earlier. Our next step will be to thoroughly evaluate our exhibit policy so that we can ensure all exhibits—including those of a violent or sensitive nature—are handled in a way that promotes constructive dialogue and ensures that children and adults of all backgrounds feel comfortable visiting MOCHA. We will be developing this policy in the next month, and will then invite all of our partner organizations, including the sponsors of A Child’s View from Gaza the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) to participate in our exhibits in keeping with this policy.
This experience has reminded us, yet again, of the power of children’s voices and visions and of the unique role that art can play in our community. We remain committed to ensuring that art, in all its forms, remains a vibrant part of our lives.

Respectfully,

Hilmon Sorey
Chair, MOCHA Board of Directors
board@mocha.org

Museum of Childrens Art in Oakland to host Anti-Israel art fair

Coming to a city near you. The latest in Palestinian propaganda, in the guise of "childrens art" is traveling, with drawings specially selected to demonize the Worlds only Jewish state. The next stop is the Oakland California Museum of Children's Art (MOCHA), where this collection is being promoted by the Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA) and is marketed to children from kindergarten through 8th grade.


Parents of 5 years olds. Do you really want your children subject to images like these? When you sign a permission slip allowing your child to go on a field trip to MOCHA, is this what you expect? Teachers- how will you explain the anti-Semitic and anti-American imagery to your kindergartners?





Notice the use of Jewish stars in the "art" turning this from simply a chronicle of childrens experiences during war, into a demonization of Jewish state. The anti-American imagery provides a nice touch, too.

The Children of Sderot, just a mile from the Gaza border are truly living under siege, suffering from daily missile attacks. Indeed, there are common threads in the drawings, yet the Israeli children manage to convey the horrors of war without the use of anti-Islamic imagery.







To the Museum of Childrens Art, the staff, board and the individuals and foundations that support MOCHA:
This exhibit is without context and balance, and includes anti-Semitic and anti-American imagery. By allowing your facilities to be used in this manner, you are presenting an incomplete picture, creating heat without light and contributing to the vast pool of lies misinformation on the conflict in the Middle East. This is an inappropriate use of a treasured local resource.