The Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art. (Courtesy of Congregation Rodeph Shalom and the Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art)
As the Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art welcomes its 50th anniversary this year, the organization is opening a new show that may very well be one of its most important installations yet.
Called “Fallout: October 7 and the New Antisemitism,” the show explores the effects of the terrorist attacks in Israel in the fall of 2023 and how the world has changed since. The exhibition is being put on in collaboration with the Jewish Art Salon. The museum is housed at Congregation Rodeph Shalom.
Robin Blumenfeld Switzenbaum is the co-chair of the Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art Committee, and she said that the show represents a diverse set of viewpoints on the conflict in Israel and Gaza, which is a reflection of the way that the community at Rodeph Shalom feels about what is happening in the region.
“The Aftermath: Pink Shoe” by Jenny Edwards Ber. (Courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art)
“We have always tried to have a very diverse group of artists submit work,” she said. “The views that are expressed are diverse, too. In other words, in the open call, there was a flag that was a combined image of both an Israeli and Palestinian flag. So, we’ve tried to exhibit diverse points of view.”
The works of art are of a variety of media and focus on different angles of Oct. 7 and the events that followed. There is a photograph of a child’s shoe left in rubble at a kibbutz following Hamas’ attack. There are a series of paintings focusing on Jewish people’s noses as a way to combat and call attention to the physical stereotypes that persist about Jewish people. There is a striking painting of a female IDF soldier in uniform, positioned in front of beautiful blue water, guarding the Jewish homeland. There are handmade prayer amulets that hang in the exhibit, serving as a way to protect the hostages who are still captive in Gaza.
Yona Verwer is the director of the Jewish Art Salon, and she said in the foreword to the exhibit that it is an absolutely necessary show given the rise in antisemitism around the country and world.
“This collection of artworks confronts an urgent issue that remains underexplored in too many cultural spaces today. The rise of new antisemitism, particularly in the wake of the events of Oct. 7, demands our attention, and these powerful works articulate its impact with unflinching clarity and emotional depth,” she said.
“Carol, Nose 5/100” by Goldie Gross. (Courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art)
The exhibit will open in the next few weeks, with the team at the museum just waiting for the final steps of installation, like the placing of placards and labels. It will be open through February.
The community is excited for it to open, Blumenfeld Switzenbaum said.
“They [will] find it very emotionally and intellectually stimulating. I think we will have a panel discussion on Nov. 20 with some of the artists in the show at this synagogue, and we hope that larger members of the Jewish community and the community in Philadelphia in general are able to attend that,” she said.
Ultimately, the exhibit is meant to show the complex nature of the conflict and the perils that Jews around the world have faced since. The museum is steadfast in both its commitment to Israel and its commitment to peace in the region.
“Shely” by Yigal Ozeri. (Courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art)
“Our congregation is devoted to a continuation of the Jewish peoplehood and a democratic Jewish homeland. We affirm Israel’s right to exist as an expression of a millennial-long dream. We are committed to pluralism and civil rights for everyone living within Israel. We look to the future and hope for the shared liberation of Israelis and Palestinians,” said the museum in a document on the exhibit.
Blumenfeld Switzenbaum said that the museum is a valued part of the Rodeph Shalom community and the area’s Jewish community as a whole.
“We’re very fortunate. The museum is now celebrating its 50th year, so we’ve had a long history. Our synagogue in itself is just a beautiful work of art, and so I think [that the] people who set this up 50 years ago felt it was an important component of experience,” she said.