Artist Archie Moore in anti-Israel social media post spree after prestigious festival selection
An Indigenous artist picked to represent Australia at a prestigious European arts festival shared anti-Israel material to his social media platforms.
An Indigenous artist selected to represent Australia at a prestigious European arts festival shared anti-Israel material on his social media platforms.
On Monday, Sky News revealed that artist Archie Moore – selected to represent Australia at the 2024 Venice Biennale, one of the world’s oldest culture and art exhibitions – shared content lauding the Hamas terrorists during the October 7 attacks on Israel.
The video, reshared by Moore on Instagram on October 9, showed footage from the October 7 attacks by Hamas.
It depicts Palestinians breaking down the fence separating Israel and the Gaza Strip during Hamas’s Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, and describes how the attackers “made history” and “returned to the land” Israel forced them from.
October 7 was the deadliest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust.
In another post on Instagram after October 7, Moore shared a tweet that asked why Hamas was being described as terrorists.
“Ukraine civilians defending their families are freedom fighters,” read a tweet by Khaled Beydoun, shared by Moore on Instagram.
“But Palestinians in Gaza doing the exact same thing are terrorists.”
Moore also shared posts prior to the October 7 attacks that – in a mock-up of a Donald Trump campaign cap – called to “make Israel Palestine again”.
During the October 9 scenes at the Sydney Opera House, where a pro-Palestine rally descended into anti-Semitism amid chants of “gas the Jews”, Moore shared videos on Instagram of protesters at the iconic steps.
In a statement provided to Sky News’ Sharri Markson, Arts Minister Tony Burke said he “understood the posts have (since) been deleted”.
Speaking on Monday morning in Sydney, before the revelations aired on Sky News in the evening, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton called for a “clear message” from the federal and state governments at Wednesday’s national cabinet amid a rise in anti-Semitism.
Mr Dutton also criticised Mr Burke for refusing to condemn the Sydney Theatre Company’s pro-Palestine keffiyeh protest at the opening night of The Seagull, describing the minister’s response as “mealy-mouthed”.
Creative Australia, a government agency, is funding Moore to represent Australia at the prestigious art festival.
The agency’s deputy chair, Wesley Enoch, was hand-picked by Mr Burke for the position and previously defended STC actors who staged a pro-Palestine protest in Canberra.
Mr Enoch was the director of The Visitors.
On November 8, after a preview performance of The Visitors, co-produced by the STC, cast members came back out on to the Canberra Theatre Centre stage and read out a statement calling for a ceasefire and demanding “more from our leaders”.
“This is a statement from the cast of The Visitors on the situation in Gaza,” it began.
“The cast wanted to come back out and say, as a collective, that we are actively sending our love to those who are being severely oppressed right now. At this very moment.”
Mr Enoch later defended the action, saying it was the “responsibility” of individuals to have a “position on important issues”, and he was not in a position to “tell people what they can and cannot do”.
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