A controversial art display divided Chicago residents during a city council meeting this week, with some accusing a local museum of harboring antisemitism.
The art display, which is called “U.S.-Israel War Machine,” is on display at the government-run Chicago Cultural Center. It depicts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Uncle Sam as murderers, showing the figures with blood-stained faces, bombs and other violent imagery.
During a meeting held by the city’s special events committee on Tuesday, numerous residents spoke up about the artwork, including some who accused the piece of being antisemitic. A representative from the American Jewish Committee said that the art piece was “dangerous for my community.”
“It is harmful and it is not something that should be displayed in a public building,” the resident said, according to FOX 32 Chicago. “Bigotry like this actively harms the Jewish community, which has a large presence in Chicago.”
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Uncle Sam is depicted as a murderer in the art piece. (FOX 32 Chicago)
But other residents voiced support or indifference to the artwork, with one resident calling the discussion “shocking and, honestly, a waste of everyone here’s time.”
“The demand to remove this puppet sets a dangerous precedent that Chicago elected officials can dictate which artwork is allowed to be displayed in our city and which is not, based on whether they agree with the artist’s politics,” the resident said, per FOX 32. “As a proud member of Chicago’s Jewish community, I urge you to spend your time actually governing our city.”
The art piece critiques U.S. support of Israel. (FOX 32 Chicago)
The display has been a center of conversation for weeks in the Windy City. At the end of January, the alderman of Chicago’s 34th Ward wrote a letter to Mayor Brandon Johnson arguing that the art piece “is not the type of thing we as the government should promote.”
“It perpetuates a stereotype we should not be perpetuating,” alderman Bill Conway said.
The art display has divided Chicago residents, with some accusing it of being antisemitic. (FOX 32 Chicago)
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Chicago Cultural Center for comment.
