Wing Luke Museum staff protest exhibition over anti-Zionism and antisemitism conflation

Half the staff at Seattle's Wing Luke Museum staged a walkout on the opening day of the exhibition Confronting Hate Together, protesting its conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism. The museum collaborated with the Washington State Jewish Historical Society and the Black Heritage Society of Washington State on the show, which documents hate crimes and prejudice against Jewish, Black, and Asian communities in Seattle. Protesting employees argue the exhibition texts frame Palestinian liberation and anti-Zionism as antisemitism, while failing to include voices from Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim communities. The exhibition emerged from local issues where these communities face displacement due to discrimination in mortgage and loan industries. Museum spokesperson Steve McLean told the Seattle Times the institution is open to widening the show's scope and will work with staff to address their calls to action. The Wing Luke Museum focuses on Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander art and history.