BDS movement targets first Israeli art exhibition in UAE

The first Israeli art exhibition in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is facing a boycott campaign from the BDS movement, which seeks to delegitimize Israel through pressuring various international groups and artists to boycott the Zionist regime.

“Abyss of Bliss” is currently open and runs until May 20 at Oblong Contemporary Art Gallery in Dubai. Its stated purpose is to honor “the occasion of the peace agreement between the UAE and Israel,” referring to the UAE’s normalization deal with Israel signed last year as part of the so-called Abraham Accords.

In an Arabic press release, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel asked the public not to attend the show, accusing the gallery of using art to normalize “colonialism and repression.”

The group further claimed that the cultural and sports exchanges between Israel and the UAE are really a secret cover for a “security and military alliance” which will bring “destruction and oppression to the nations of the region.”