A new work by artist Laika appeared on the night of May 25-26 in the capital, specifically on Basilio Bricci Street, right in front of the entrance to Manara High School. The poster, with strong visual impact and content, depicts a kiss between Adolf Hitler and Benjamin Netanyahu, with the explicit title: The Final Solution. The reference to the systematic operation to exterminate Jews implemented by the Nazi regime during World War II is direct and intentionally provocative.
The figure of Hitler, recognizable by his military uniform and the caricatured features with which he is often depicted in political satire, is depicted kissing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is also depicted in formal dress. The work suggests a paradoxical gesture of approval by the German dictator toward Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip.
“I chose an extreme image to shake the press and public opinion. The Israeli government, with the support of the United States, the European Union (Italy and Germany in the lead), is carrying out a systematic operation of annihilation of the Palestinian people,” says Laika. “Operation ’Chariots of Gideon’ is in effect ethnic cleansing. The Israeli army has already occupied 81 percent of the strip and reduced the civilian population to starvation; Gaza is an open-air prison, now almost completely razed to the ground, in which tens of thousands of civilians, including more than 20,000 children, have died. The next phase will be the deportation of the survivors. Europe has sanctioned Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, but is silent in the face of Israeli crimes. Palestinian genocide is not only tolerated, it is financed, while protests in defense of this oppressed and battered people are suppressed. I also urge all Jewish communities to turn their backs on Netanyahu. Those who experienced pain as great as the Holocaust cannot accept the atrocities in Gaza.We have learned nothing from the past. The end of Gaza will also coincide with our end in terms of democracy and the defense of human rights.”
The artist accompanied the posting with a statement clarifying the meaning of the work. The aim, according to the statement, is to denounce not only the violence suffered by the Palestinian population, but also the political responsibilities of those at the international level who avoid taking a clear position. The recipients of the criticism include the Italian government, described by Laika as “pro-life” while remaining indifferent to the deaths of thousands of children, “as in the case of Alaa al-Najjar, a pediatrician and mother, to whom an Israeli missile killed nine of her 10 children a few days ago.”
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| Hitler kisses Netanyahu: Laika poster denounces massacre of Palestinian civilians |
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