Lecturer at Bezalel: Jerusalem and Haifa are "Palestine"; IDF - "Occupation Forces"

Issa Grayeb was born in Nazareth, is an Israeli citizen, studied in Israel, and between 2015 and 2019 studied at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. Later, he also joined the teaching staff at the institution.

It is precisely against this background that the documentation revealed in an article published in Germany takes on a different meaning: according to the article, on his Instagram account, Grayeb tags places where he is in Israel — including Nazareth, Haifa, and Jerusalem — with the addition of "Palestine." The author of the article describes this as a situation in which he "completely denies the existence of Israel."

It also emerges from the article that Grayeb calls the IDF "Israeli Occupation Forces," a term identified with anti-Zionist discourse. He is not just a private artist, but also a teacher in the Israeli academy, and this is where the central public question lies.

When it comes to a private artist, it can be argued that these are his personal views and his freedom of expression. However, in Grayeb's case, it is also about someone who has integrated into teaching at Bezalel — an Israeli academic institution operating within the higher education system.

Therefore, the question is not whether Grayeb is allowed to define himself as "Palestinian," but whether an Israeli academic institution is aware of the full range of statements made by someone who teaches its students, and what boundaries it sets when a teacher presents, according to the published documentation, sovereign cities in Israel as "Palestine" and the country's army as "Occupation Forces."

The issue gains added weight because Bezalel is not just a private gallery or an independent artistic framework. It is a higher education institution, and therefore the question arises as to how the institution distinguishes between academic and artistic freedom and the statements of teaching staff concerning the very legitimacy of the state.

Ten days after October 7

According to the German article, as early as October 17, 2023, just ten days after the October 7 massacre and even before the start of the ground maneuver in the Gaza Strip, Grayeb published a call to stop what he termed the "genocide" of Palestinians.

The author of the article notes that she did not find in his publications any corresponding reference to the massacre committed by Hamas.

From Israel to the "Palestinian territories"

Now Grayeb is also receiving international recognition: he was selected for the prestigious DAAD artist scholarship in Germany, but even there, Israel disappears from the definition.

According to the article, Grayeb, who was born in Nazareth, was presented under the origin definition of "Palestinian territories." The author of the article notes that for other artists, it is customary to state the place of birth, while in his case, a different definition was used.

Later, when she approached the DAAD to find out where Grayeb is registered as a resident, she was told that his self-declaration is "East Jerusalem and Ramallah." She claims that when she requested official documentation, it was clarified to her that it was a self-declaration only.

The DAAD itself is funded primarily by German public funds. According to the data presented in the article, the scholarship usually provides about 2,000 to 3,500 euros per month, and in 2021, the organization's entire budget stood at about 634.7 million euros.

In response to an inquiry on the matter, the DAAD clarified that the artist program does not adopt the private content published by the artists it supports. The organization also emphasized its "historical responsibility toward the State of Israel and its residents."

However, in Israel, another, and perhaps more significant question remains: how does a regulated Israeli academic institution relate to such statements when they come not only from a private artist, but from someone who has also integrated into teaching students at the institution?

Was Bezalel aware of the publications? Were they examined by the institution's management? And where, from the academy's perspective, does the line pass between a lecturer's freedom of expression and creation and the presentation of the State of Israel as an occupation and its sovereign territory as "Palestine"?

Bezalel's response will be provided when received.

Issa Grayeb's response will be provided when received.