Israel Bans Palestinian Artist From Attending Opening

Khaled Jarrar Photo: Art Daily

Palestinian artist Khaled Jarrar has had a travel ban imposed on him by the Israeli Security Agency, Art Daily has reported. The ban is likely to prevent him from presenting his latest project entitled Meet the Artists of To the Square 2 in Helsinki, Finland.

Curators Ivor Stodolsky and Marita Muukkonen insist that the project will open as scheduled on August 14, “no matter what.” Arrangements have been made to enable Jarrar to be present at the opening via a video link if he cannot defeat the ban.

Jarrar’s work was commissioned by Checkpoint Helsinki as part of Helsinki Festival, which will start on 18 August and culminate on the 29 August with a grand opening on Helsinki’s square featuring a concert by Ramy Essam, an Egyptian singer who rose to prominence during the Egyptian revolution.

The artist has already faced difficulty traveling this year. Earlier this summer, he was turned away  from the Jordanian border, preventing him from reaching his exhibition opening at the New Museum in New York. An initial ban until the 1st August was extended until the 1st September.

Jarrar fears that,  if nothing is done, the Israeli Security Agency will continue to arbitrarily extend his travel restrictions. He has now engaged leading Israeli human rights lawyer Lea Tsmeal to help lift his ban.


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