Over the last ten years a collective of artists from around the world called Artists 4 Israel, have banded together in an effort to steer conversations away from religious hate speech to fight for the dignity and quality of life of those afflicted by the ongoing battle for territory between Israel and Palestine.
Most recently, Artist 4 Israel veered from the political arena – where opposition from governments and organisations like the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) Movement, push discussions towards legislation and accountability – in an effort to directly assist those on the ground in areas most affected; such as in the city of Sderot where thousands of rockets have fallen over time and a bomb shelter exists in every home and mobile shelters are made available in the streets.
In July this year, with the support from the Mayor of Sderot, Alon Davidi, a group of seven artists including Hungarian Artist, TakerOne, Portugal born artist Mr.Kas, Japanese-American JUURI, and Hollywood’s Eric Skotnes, went about transforming these shelters that have become a reminder of fear and the dark history of the area, into something positive, as reported by CBN News.
“Artists 4 Israel started because we saw all of the anti-Israel art that was going on. We noticed that in popular culture people were doing everything they could to demonize Israel and that they were beginning to move into the young, progressive, urban, contemporary arts category,” Craig Dershowitz, co-founder of Artists 4 Israel told CBN News.
As stated on their website, Artists 4 Israel brings the world’s greatest artists to Israel and around the world to begin healing communities and people affected by conflict through the transformative power of art. Dershowitz simply explained, “We’re here to help the communities in need.”