Progress Illinois

Last week, Chicago's Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies shut down its exhibit "Imaginary Coordinates" after museum donors complained that the show portrayed an "anti-Israel" bias. The exhibit had featured maps that conflict with the current national boundaries of Israel. While the curators didn't reveal what specifically had sparked the complaints, they said the decision was based on a desire not to offend members of the Jewish community, its "core constituency." However, many of those criticizing the closure of the exhibit come from the very Jewish community that Spertus claims it did not want to offend.

Blogging at Jewschool, Rabbi Brant Rosen argues that "intelligent exploration and provocative debate is precisely what belongs at a Jewish institution." And at the Sun-Times, columnist Neil Steinberg had this to say:

If the Israeli-Palestinian deadlock teaches us anything, it is the limited benefit of bulldozing forward without regard to conflicting viewpoints. We condemn the Palestinians for feeding their children a narrow view of the world. And then we take a page from them and spike an exhibit because some aspect makes the check-writers uneasy. Shonda fur di goyim. From a Jewish museum, we expect better.

In last week's Time Out Chicago, Lauren Weinberg noted that "Imaginary Coordinates" had been lauded by critics.  She went on to draw a contrast with other museums' handling of similar controversies:

When controversy hit New York’s Jewish Museum in 2002 and the Brooklyn Museum of Art in 1999, those institutions acknowledged viewers’ sensitivities but kept their exhibitions—and a meaningful dialogue—open.

Interestingly enough, the Spertus website still proudly displays the glowing reviews received by "Imaginary Coordinates."