‘TA is detached from public’

Among a list of artists set to be honored by the Tel Aviv municipality is Ariel Bronz – famous for having stuck a flag up his bottom at a conference – a choice that has drawn the ire of Culture Minister Miri Regev. She used the example of Bronz to swiftly defend her controversial “Cultural Loyalty Bill.”

In 2016, theater artist Bronz – who describes himself as “post-post-Zionist” – was forced off stage at a cultural conference put on by Haaretz after he shoved a white flag into his posterior.

Several media outlets had erroneously reported that it was an Israeli flag, but an image from the event showed Bronz holding a white, unmarked flag.

“[This is] another great example of why I should urgently advance the Law of Loyalty in Culture,” Regev said. “Bronz is not a symbol of a promise but a symbol of defamation.” The Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality, who stood behind this decision, shows how “disconnected it is from the public’s feelings.”

Appealing to Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai, she said: “the time has come for you to understand what most of the Israeli public understands: artists who humiliate the symbol of the state are not worthy of a prize or of support from the authorities.”

The Rosenblum Prize which Bronz won, consisted of a NIS 9,000 award in the category of “young and promising [artists].”

Other winners include choreographer Roee Asaf and playwrights Roee Malih-Reshef, Daniel Botzer, Shay Shabtai and Noa Shechter. The prize for outstanding artists went to Etti Ben-Zaken, musician Orit Wolf, musician Raz Cohen and actress Tahel Ran. Conductor Anat Morag won the Lifetime Achievement Award, and actor Albert Cohen received a prize for outstanding performance.