Auckland Museum lit its building up in blue and white. On social media, the museum said it had lit up “in solidarity with Israel”.

“Our thoughts go out to the many civilians impacted as a result of the terrorist attack a week ago,” the museum had said.

“As a war memorial, we value the importance of peaceful dialogue and understanding.

“We condemn all acts of violence and terrorism. This evening the museum is lit in blue and white in condemnation and as an expression of hope for peace.”

Researcher Dr Arama Rata said within hours, about 100 people had gathered outside the museum, many holding Palestine flags and chanting “Free Palestine”.

She said a verbal confrontation arose between the Palestine supporters and a group of Israel supporters.

Red fabric-covered lights
Dr Rata said Palestine supporters subsequently covered the lights with red fabric blacking out the display.

She said the museum must issue a formal apology to the community, saying its actions have caused deep divisions for people who are already hurting.

Alternative Jewish Voices co-founder Marilyn Garson, a Jewish woman who spent four years in Gaza providing humanitarian aid to shelters, said the board of the War Memorial Museun was either partisan, or uninformed.

“They feel solidarity only with Israel. So they single out one acknowledged crime while massive crimes against Palestinians are unfolding. I don’t understand how Palestinian civilians can be invisible to the board of a war museum,” she said.

“It seems to me that it is the antithesis of a war memorial’s mission to downgrade some human lives. They’re saying that they feel for these civilians and not those civilians. So someone really doesn’t understand the concept of civilian safety.

“A war memorial should act to hold back the violence, they need to learn into their blind spot. I want them to call for the end of this horror.”

Personally apologised
In a statement, chief executive David Reeves said he personally apologised and they were reviewing the feedback they had received from Sunday night.

“I acknowledge the depth of feeling around our decision to light the museum on Sunday night,” Reeves said.

“We wanted this to be an expression of hope for peace — our approach was wrong, and I personally apologise for the distress and hurt caused to members of our community,” he said.

“I am carefully reviewing and reflecting on all of the feedback we have received. As a War Memorial Museum, we continue to hope for deeper understanding and a peaceful resolution to conflict.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A peace researcher and other pro-Palestinian supporters are calling on Auckland Museum to apologise over a furore about the “unethical” lighting of the main building in the blue and white colours of the Israeli flag.

Researcher Dr Arama Rata said she wanted the museum to issue a formal apology to the community over the insensitivity over the lights incident last night.

Israeli security forces have been bombing Gaza daily for the past week with at least 2215 Palestinians killed and 8714 wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Among the dead are 720 children.

The Israeli forces are poised for a massive air, sea and ground invasion of the enclave of about 2.3 million people.

The bombing is in retaliation for an attack by the Hamas military wing into southern Israel last Saturday which left 1300 people dead, including 265 soldiers, and more than 3300 wounded.

“Auckland Museum is supposed to be a welcoming place for all members of our community. Their actions tonight have caused deep divisions for people who are already hurting,” Dr Rata said.

‘Horrors of wars’
“The museum is entrusted with many of our taonga, and regularly holds exhibitions helping us to remember the horrors of wars.

“Their actions today show they have no respect for human suffering. Their actions were highly unethical.”

Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa chair John Minto also sent a protest note to the museum’s chief executive, David Reeves.

“We were appalled to see Auckland Museum lit up in the colours of the Israeli flag at a time when Israel is conducting slaughter — there is no other word for it — of the Palestinian people in Gaza.

“Palestinians are used to seeing such awful behaviour from Euro-centric institutions such as the museum.”

JUST IN
Auckland Museum decided to project on their building front apartheid Israel’s flag as it commits a literal genocide in Gaza,, and it got quickly surrounded by a flood of Palestine flags booing the genocidal museum 🇵🇸🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/mOXsHxLfm0

— Tameem | تميم (@TameeOliveFern) October 15, 2023

According to a statement by the protest group, the museum posted on its Instagram social media account a message saying, “This evening, your museum is lit in blue and white in solidarity with Israel. Our thoughts go out to the many civilians impacted as a result of the terrorist attack a week ago today.”

An image of the main building showing the blue and white light accompanied the message.

‘Free Palestine’ call
Within hours, about 100 people had gathered outside the museum, many holding Palestine flags and chanting “free Palestine”.

Cars with Palestinian flags also drove in procession around the museum, drivers honking their horns and blaring music.

An argument developed between Palestine supporters and a small group of Israel supporters who had also gathered at the foot of the hill below the museum, holding Israeli flags.

Police arrived and calmed the row.

By 9pm, the museum lights had been turned off.  Later, white lights were turned back on, according to the protesters’ statement.

Palestine supporters subsequently covered the lights with red fabric.

Israel faces widespread condemnation from the international community for issuing an evacuation order for more than a million people living in northern Gaza.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Paula Gaviria Betancur, said she was “horrified” by the order and demanded that Israel immediately rescind it, saying “forcible population transfers constitute a crime against humanity, and collective punishment is prohibited international humanitarian law”.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz