A Seattle-based museum is temporarily closed after employees accused its “Facing Hate Together” exhibit of inadvertently supporting Israel.
Striking Wing Luke Museum employees, who organized under the name @wlm4palestine on Instagram, say the exhibition “combines[s] “anti-Zionism as anti-Semitism.” The museum describes the exhibit as an exploration of “anti-Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander hate, black hate, and anti-Jewish hate.”
The strike is made up of more than 20 employees who walked out on Wednesday, the opening day of the exhibition. The strikers are a mix of full-time employees and part-time employees.
“The majority of our strike collective is made up of Wing Luke Museum’s most vulnerable employees: front desk staff and part-time workers,” a post by @wlm4palestine read. “There are 22 known WLM staff across all departments and levels of the organization who are still standing in solidarity with the strikes, along with others who are standing in solidarity.
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Employees at the Wing Luke Museum walked out Wednesday in opposition to an exhibit that “conflated anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism.” (iStock/Google Maps)
Among the employees’ demands is that the museum remove “any language…that attempts[s] “Framing Palestinian liberation and anti-Zionism as anti-Semitism.” Anti-Israel protesters also call for the museum to “recognize the limited perspectives presented in this exhibition.”
“Missing perspectives include those of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim communities who are also experiencing increased violence, scapegoating, and demonization as Zionist forces continue the genocide in Palestine,” the petition states.
Striking employees also created a GoFundMe campaign to make up for back pay. The campaign has raised $3,939 as of Sunday afternoon.
“Because we are retaining labor, we will potentially not be compensated,” the campaign states. “These funds would provide financial relief so we can pay for rent, utilities, food, medical bills, and other living expenses here in Seattle. The funds will also assist in staff efforts during this strike (needs, supplies, sustenance )”.
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In response to the strikes, the Wing Luke Museum issued a sympathetic statement toward the strikers, calling the strike “respectful.”
“As an organization rooted in dialogue, we recognize and support the right of our staff to express their personal beliefs and truths and, to this end, we are holding space for a careful and thoughtful listening process with the intention of hearing multiple perspectives in pursuit of a mutual path forward,” reads the Facebook statement.
The museum’s support for the protests was met with some criticism in the comments section of its Facebook post.
The Wing Luke Museum is temporarily closed in response to the strike. (Google Maps)
“I am very disappointed in Wing Luke and their staff for making life less safe and more isolated for Jewish communities. As Asians, we know all too well the pain of that isolation,” said one commenter.
“Why does an opinion come to dictate to others what is right or wrong?” another Facebook user wrote. “It seems to me that those who are withdrawing are demonstrating why we need more exhibits like this and more education in general. It is okay to disagree and dialogue, but state your demands as if they are facts that the rest of us must accept.” going to [sic] away,” wrote another.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Wing Luke Museum and the striking employees for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
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