Exhibition of ultra-Orthodox military draft cartoons vandalized ahead of Animix Festival
A young man wearing a kippah confronted organizers and Tel Aviv Cinematheque CEO Tomer Cohen. They said he tore down and damaged parts of the exhibition before attempting to flee.
A political exhibition on ultra-Orthodox exemption from military service was damaged ahead of the Animix International Animation, Cartoon and Comics Festival at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque. The festival, which began on Tuesday, typically tackles significant social matters via animation and political cartoons. "The Black Army," the year's featured exhibit, delves into Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) opposition to military conscription, featuring works from Israel's preeminent cartoonists.
According to festival coordinators, an individual in a kippah disrupted the installation of the exhibition in the plaza adjacent to the Tel Aviv Cinematheque on Monday. He tore down and damaged parts of the display before attempting to flee, a chase that lasted about an hour until police arrived to apprehend the suspect. Despite the destruction, the exhibition opened as scheduled on Tuesday and continues until August 8.
Festival artistic director Nissim (Nusko) Hezkiyahu expressed this as the first occurrence in the festival's 26-year history of such an incident. He emphasized that the festival has consistently addressed social and political issues, with military conscription being a particularly contentious topic in Israeli society. Festival management assured that they are diligently restoring the damaged exhibition, with the expectation of its reopening the subsequent day.
Multiple cartoonists whose works are part of the exhibit responded to the incident by creating their own cartoons in reaction.
Written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
