Opinion

Art display is stereotypical, anti-Semitic

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• Media should continue to report poor conditions for Palestinians (March 8, 2002)
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Also by Matthew Fernandez-Konigsberg:

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Open letter to the management of Espresso Royale Cafe:

I am writing in regard to the recent art display at the Espresso Royale Cafe, Location #8 on State Street.

I was greatly offended by the recent exhibit. I don’t want to silence anyone’s voice, especially children’s voices, but these pieces of art all spelled one thing out to me: I was not wanted there. I am not Israeli, nor am I a lover of Sharon, but pictures of people with Jewish stars shooting children made me feel like I was being singled out, like I was at fault for something.

This is a place my friends and I have called simply “the cafe” since freshman year four years ago. I could not believe I had to drink my tea this week while looking up at burning Israeli flags, stars of David desecrated and “Death to Israel” slogans. I see enough of that stuff when I leave the cafe.

I am not a gung-ho Zionist, but I am a Jewish customer of Espresso and go there at least once a day, sometimes twice. There are many like me, Jewish customers who frequent the cafe often and make up some of the regular, everyday customers.

This is not to say we make up the majority, but there is a substantial number of Jewish students who find it a comfortable and fun place to do their work and drink some tea before and after class. I can also vouch for many non-Jewish students who also are everyday customers and feel the way I do.

I know the display will be coming down soon, but I do not know if I want to return. It’s like when a friend insults you in the worst way, and then wants you to go out with him next week. I just wanted to let you know how offensive and inappropriate the art display is, especially because I usually enjoy the new exhibits at the cafe, with very little politics involved.

These are my personal feelings, but I would like to stress I am not the only regular customer that may not, at least for a time, frequent location #8 due to this arrow in our backs. Madison has enough politics as a university and a community; many of us did not need our favorite cafe to take a shot at us as well.

My last thought revolves around selection. Would Espresso Royale choose to put up an art display by Manhattan second-graders that were present during Sept. 11? We could all imagine what they would draw: Exploding buildings by men with beards and headdresses, and all the things a 7- or 8-year-old could discern from violence and the media. Would you display a picture of an old Arabic man blowing up a building, very stereotypically drawn, in your cafe? Think about it, because I would not want to see that display either, it has no purpose but to divide and incite.

Matthew Fernandez-Konigsberg (mfernandezko@students.wisc.edu) is a UW senior.