Micha Bar-Am, west of the Suez Canal, October 1973

 

Jerusalem’s Museum of Tolerance removed the work ‘West of the Suez Canal, October 1973′ by photojournalist Micha Bar-Am.

The photograph of a naked soldier washing himself has been removed from an exhibition at Jerusalem’s Museum of Tolerance, due to concerns that it could offend religious visitors’ feelings.

Bar-Am, considered by many to be the father of Israeli photojournalism, has taken the photograph west of the Suez Canal, on Egyptian soil, during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

The photograph is part of the exhibition “Documenting Israel: Visions of 75 Years” which opened on April 27th alongside a conference held by The Jerusalem Post at the museum. The conference featured speeches by President Isaac Herzog and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis among others.

When Bar-Am’s wife Orna and son Barak arrived at the opening, they were shocked and furious to find that the work had been taken down from the wall. ‘The museum’s management cares less about hurting our liberal feelings than those of religious people’, said Barak.

The presentation will be on view at Bar Am‘s 3rd floor space, Goethestraße 2 in Berlin-Charlottenburg and could be visited by appointment.

 

Micha Bar-Am, west of the Suez Canal, October 1973
Installation views at Bar Am