JVP Bay Area letter about HOMEY Mural

JVP Bay Area took action in September to defend a mural in San Francisco's Mission District that expressed solidarity with Palestinians.  The mural, created by the H.O.M.E.Y. Collective and entitled "Solidarity-Breaking Down Barriers" included a depiction of Palestinians breaking through the Israeli wall, along with many related images.   Other imagery included the barrier on the US Mexico border, and images of various liberation struggles.  Muralism is a long tradition in the Mission District.

The mural was funded through the San Francisco Arts Commission, and the funding for the mural was held up after complaints from the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Anti-Defamation League.  

You can read more about the controversy and see a picture at the Muzzlewatch blog, here.  HOMEY agreed to revise the mural and the final version has now been approved.

Several members of JVP spoke at an Arts Commission on Sept. 19 to support HOMEY and the mural.  The Chapter also sent the letter below to the Arts Commission.

We, the membership of the Bay Area chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, write to you concerning the mural painted by the H.O.M.E.Y. collective at 24th and Capp streets, entitled: "Solidarity - Breaking Down Barriers".  It has come to our attention that, due to complaints from the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Anti-Defamation League, the mural may be modified, and that the Arts Commission has temporarily withheld financial support for education from the young artists involved.

As Jews living in San Francisco and other parts of the Bay Area, we wish you to know that the complaints of the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Anti-Defamation League do not reflect our views, nor do they reflect the consensus of the Jewish community in San Francisco, or in the Bay Area.  We ask you not to accept the opinions of the JCRC and ADL uncritically, and ask you to listen to the concerns of others in the community, including both Jews and others, who do not share a negative interpretation of the mural.

Furthermore, we affirm the appropriateness of including the Palestinian struggle for justice along with those of other groups represented in San Francisco's community, and we specifically point out that Arabs and Palestinians live and work in the Mission District.  We support the overall theme of the mural, which is about resisting oppression and breaking down barriers between peoples.  We ask you not to demand any changes to the mural that would dilute or distort the message of solidarity with Palestinians.

The flyer attached to this letter, produced by Jewish Voice for Peace, speaks to the character of the Israeli "Separation Barrier" depicted accurately in the mural.

While our individual members may have various opinions on the specific imagery in the mural, we can speak as a chapter in saying that we are saddened that the artists of the HOMEY collective have been affected by controversy.  We affirm the right of the HOMEY collective not to have their message censored, and to have their artistic integrity respected.  We also believe that the commitment of the Arts Commission to financially support the education of the young artists involved should be implemented swiftly.