A petition published by the Art Not Genocide Alliance has been signed by 178 contributors to the Biennale, including prominent figures such as Alfredo Jaar, Tai Shani, Yto Barrada, Sophia Al-Maria, and Meriem Bennani. The signatories argue that Israel’s inclusion is incompatible with the current humanitarian situation in Gaza, describing the ongoing violence as an assault not only on lives but on Palestinian cultural identity.
Also among the signatories is Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo, part of the curatorial team selected by the late Koyo Kouoh to realize her vision for the Biennale’s central exhibition, In Minor Keys. Participants from approximately 25 national pavilions have endorsed the petition, while some contributors chose to remain anonymous, citing concerns over potential political or legal repercussions.
The renewed appeal follows an earlier open letter issued in October 2025 by ANGA, which urged organizers to deny Israel a platform and warned of a potential boycott. While the latest statement stops short of repeating that threat, it maintains that cultural workers should not be asked to share space with what it describes as a “genocidal state.”
In response, Biennale organizers have reiterated their longstanding position that the exhibition is a platform for “artistic freedom,” explicitly rejecting “any form of exclusion or censorship.” This stance has remained consistent even amid broader controversies, including criticism surrounding Russia’s planned return after its absence during the war in Ukraine.
Israel’s participation this year will be represented by Belu-Simion Fainaru, a Romanian-born, Haifa-based artist. His presentation will feature a new iteration of Rose of Nothingness, a project previously shown at the 2019 Biennale. Israel’s national pavilion, currently under renovation, will not be used; instead, the work will be exhibited in the Arsenale.
Fainaru has not publicly responded to the latest petition, though in earlier remarks he defended the role of art as a space for dialogue rather than exclusion, emphasizing its potential to transcend political divisions.
The dispute echoes tensions from previous editions. Ahead of the 2024 Biennale, a similar campaign gathered more than 24,000 signatures. While organizers declined to act on those demands, Israel’s selected artist Ruth Patir and her curatorial team ultimately kept the national pavilion closed in protest, contingent on a ceasefire that did not materialize.
With debate intensifying once again, the controversy underscores the increasingly fraught intersection of global politics and cultural institutions, as the Biennale prepares to open amid heightened scrutiny from within its own artistic community.