Gold statue mocking Netanyahu placed in central Tel Aviv

Freedom of expression or a cheap left-wing provocation? An artist expresses his opposition to Netanyahu.  

A gilded statue of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was placed late Monday night at the Rabin Square, in the center of Tel Aviv.

The statue is four and a half meters (almost 15 ft.) tall and is made of cardboard and polymer clay coated with a glossy covering.

Itai Zalit, the artist who created the statue, explained that the objective of the spectacle was to stimulate public discussion on the limits of freedom of expression in Israeli society by placing a statue of the “king,” as he put it, in the center of Tel-Aviv, Israel Radio reported.

The statue was placed without permission from Tel-Aviv’s municipality, which posted a notice on the statue demanding that it be removed by Tuesday afternoon or the city will remove it and fine Zalit.

Tel Aviv Deputy Mayor Arnon Gilad condemned the statue as a “cheap provocation of senseless people who are not willing to accept the decision of the voter,” the Jerusalem Post reported.

“The same artists always make sure to speak loftily about freedom of expression, but only when it concerns a political position they support,” he added.

Minister of Culture Miri Regev slammed the statue as a left-wing expression of hatred to Netanyahu. “How far can an artist be disconnected from reality” she wrote on Facebook. “Israel is a democracy – private rights, civil rights, moral compassion, an activist court, free press, and in short, one of the most liberal countries, but the sole purpose of the display is “the hatred of Netanyahu.”

The statue was later knocked down by a passerby.

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News

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