In view of the "current tragic situation" – a reference to the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October – the Arab World Institute (IMA) in Paris is cancelling a series of conferences and events planned as part of its What Palestine Brings to the World programme. "Out of respect for the victims and for logistical reasons, we are postponing these events to the close of the 'Palestine season', i.e. to November 19," the Institute reports. Among the difficulties encountered, the IMA explains in particular that expected artists are now unable to leave Palestine.
This current "Palestine Season" consists of three exhibitions and is organized around cultural events. As stated at its opening in June, this program marks the 75th anniversary of the "Nakba". The term, which means "catastrophe" in Arabic, refers to the term used by Palestinians to refer to the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.
A political choice on the part of the JAI? "The aim was to question the meaning of this word, to confront its various interpretations with different Palestinian and Israeli intellectuals," the Institute explains today. Since Saturday, however, one thing has become clear. It is impossible to debate the possibility - or not - of coexistence between the two peoples on the same land, seventy-five years after the creation of Israel. A debate on this theme on 12 October, in the presence of Elias Sanbar, diplomat and Palestinian ambassador to UNESCO, has been postponed, as has the symposium on "the relationship between the writer Jean Genet and the Palestinian people" and the evening dedicated to the Palestinian electronic scene this weekend.
Controversies related to Israel
The IMA, a private law foundation chaired by Jack Lang, aims to "promote dialogue between the Arab world and the West" and receives funding from the countries of the Arab League (including Palestine, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia). It is placed under the supervision of the Quai d'Orsay.
Read alsoThe Arab World Institute makes room for Israel on its map of the Middle East
Since its inauguration in 1987, the Institute has already been at the centre of controversy. In 2021, the exhibition Jews of the East provoked strong reactions in the Arab world. In an open letter to the institution, nearly 200 intellectuals from the Maghreb and the Mashreq, including Tunisian musician Anouar Brahem and Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman, criticized the institute for portraying Israel "as a normal state."
At a time when Hamas is attacking Israel and Israeli retaliation is taking place, the IMA is playing a balancing act: "We are often criticized by both sides and this shows that we are in a form of equilibrium," says Jack Lang's entourage.
Read alsoEuropeans are divided on maintaining aid to Palestine
Since 9 October, the European Union has suspended all payments of its development aid - amounting to €691 million - to the Palestinians and has decided to reassess all its ongoing programmes. For its part, France, which supported the Palestinian cause to the tune of 95 million euros in 2022, is not in favor of suspending this aid.