The New York Times reports on the palestinian’s latest manifestation of their proclivity to never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
When the $24 million Palestinian Museum opens on Wednesday, it will have almost everything: a stunning, contemporary new building; soaring ambitions as a space to celebrate and redefine Palestinian art, history and culture; an outdoor amphitheater; a terraced garden.
One thing the museum will not have is exhibits.
The long-planned — and much-promoted — inaugural exhibit, “Never Part,” highlighting artifacts of Palestinian refugees, has been suspended after a disagreement between the museum’s board and its director, which led to the director’s ouster. President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority and other dignitaries are expected to attend the opening ceremony, but a spokeswoman acknowledged on Sunday that “there will not be any artwork exhibited in the museum at all.”
Omar al-Qattan, the museum’s chairman, said Palestinians were “so in need of positive energy” that it was worthwhile to open even an empty building. “Symbolically it’s critical,” he said, conceding that the next phase, including the exhibits, “is the more exciting one.”
In the West Bank, where Palestinians have for years struggled to build political and civic institutions while resisting Israel’s occupation of the territory, the fate of the exhibition may say as much about the realities of Palestinian society as any art collection could.
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The spokeswoman said the ceremony was only to celebrate the completion of the building. She said it would be open to the public, free of charge, starting June 1, though it is unclear what will be inside to look at.
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Tafeeda Jarbawi, the director of Taawon — formerly called the Welfare Association — said erecting the museum was a critical achievement itself. She said the understated lines of the structure, rising atop a terraced garden with carefully selected trees and other plants, expressed just what the organizers had hoped for.
“It’s as if the building is coming out of the womb, the Palestinian Mother Nature,” Ms. Jarbawi said. “Really, it fits with the contour of the land.”
You can see more on the museum expensive, big empty shell of a building at this website here. Like the building itself, the website does not contain much.
It really does sum up well so much about the palestinian cause: wasted opportunities, infighting, misuse of money that could have been better spent improving their quality of life, their focus on scoring political points, and predilection to say a whole lot about nothing. Come to think of it, this empty, colossal waste of money is the ultimate symbolic exhibit!
And what might the museum show in future?
Mr. Qattan said future exhibitions might explore the cultural meaning of martyrdom, the debate over which people inhabited the area first — and whether that question makes historical sense — as well as the more recent departures of religious and ethnic minorities.
I have a few suggestions of my own.
Hitler Exhibit
Well, the Hitler Store exhibit, actually. It is kinda edgy.
Gaza Zoo Animals
Hey, they are already mummified so should be a piece of cake logistically.
Pre-1948 Proofs of Palestine
This could include paintings, like this favorite of Israel haters like Greta Berlin.
And ancient coins (perhaps after scraping off that pesky Hebrew).
