Activists Protest Bayeux Tapestry Sponsor Igor Tulchinsky Over Israeli Settlement Funding
On Saturday, September 12, pro-Palestine activists gathered at the British Museum to voice their opposition to hedge-fund billionaire Igor Tulchinsky's funding of the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition. Their protest was sparked by a report indicating that Tulchinsky had financed a community center in Efrat, an illegal settlement in the Occupied West Bank. The group Energy Embargo for Palestine displayed a "People's Tapestry" and criticized the museum's collaboration with BP. This center features a "therapy yurt" intended for Israeli militants and civilians suffering from PTSD, which Tulchinsky inaugurated last November, dedicating it to "Israel's heroes." Green Party leader Zack Polanski called for an inquiry into possible breaches of the UK's sanctions on illegal settlements, while British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband affirmed that the government would take action against those aiding settlement growth.
Key facts
- Pro-Palestine activists protested at the British Museum on Saturday, September 12, over Igor Tulchinsky's sponsorship of the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition
- Tulchinsky financed a community center in Efrat, an illegal Israeli settlement in the Occupied West Bank
- Energy Embargo for Palestine unfurled a "People's Tapestry" in the museum's Great Court
- Activists also denounced the British Museum's ongoing partnership with oil giant BP
- The Efrat community center includes a "therapy yurt" for Israeli residents of Gush Etzion experiencing PTSD
- Tulchinsky dedicated the yurt to "Israel's heroes" at its unveiling last November, calling it "Israel's inner Iron Dome"
- Tulchinsky's settlement ties may violate the UK's recently adopted sanctions and import ban on illegal Israeli settlements
- Green Party leader Zack Polanski called on the UK government to investigate whether the sponsorship violates the new sanctions
Entities
Artists
- Igor Tulchinsky
- Zack Polanski
- Ed Miliband
Institutions
- British Museum
- Energy Embargo for Palestine
- BP
- Middle East Eye
- Jerusalem News Syndicate
- Green Party
- Hyperallergic
Locations
- Bayeux
- France
- United Kingdom
- Efrat
- Occupied West Bank
- Gush Etzion
- Jerusalem
- Israel
- Palestine