Israeli President Visits Exhibition of Iranian Calligraphy and Modern Posters

The Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post reported on Friday, August 19, that the President of Israel visited an exhibition of Iranian calligraphy and modern posters with his grandchildren. According to the Jerusalem Post, Reuven Rivlin, the President of Israel, and his grandchildren dedicated several hours on Thursday, August 18, to visiting the exhibition of lithography and modern Iranian calligraphy. The exhibition, titled 'A Sign of Iran,' has been running for three months at the 'Museum of Islamic Art' in western Jerusalem, just a short distance from the President's residence, and will continue for another six weeks. The main organizers of the exhibition personally provided necessary information about the posters and the reasons for holding this exhibition to the Israeli President and his family during their visit. Nadim Sheiban, the museum director, and Yossi Lemel participated in explaining the details to Mr. Rivlin. On the day of the President's visit, an Iranian music program was also held at the exhibition, including performances by a female singer of Bukharan Jewish descent. Since the opening of the exhibition of Iranian calligraphy and modern posters at the Israeli Museum of Islamic Art, artistic programs and lectures about Iranian society, history, culture, and art have been held for Israelis every weekend. The exhibition was organized in close collaboration with the 'Moravian' gallery in Brno, Czech Republic, and all the Iranian posters were donated from a similar exhibition at this European gallery. Each of the sixty selected posters was chosen from the works of 27 contemporary Iranian artists for their special message intended for display at the Israeli exhibition. The works of Morteza Memariz and Qobad Shiva, recognized as the 'fathers of modern Iranian poster art,' as well as the next generations of heirs to this art, such as Reza Abedini, Majid Abasi, Mehdi Haqshenas, Ahsan Farsa, and Mehdi Saadi, are featured in this exhibition. In the three months since the exhibition opened, thousands of Israelis and foreign tourists have visited it, but the Israeli President has been the highest-ranking official interested in visiting the exhibition. The exhibition of Iranian calligraphy and lithography in Israel was held shortly after the Holocaust cartoons exhibition in Tehran, which faced global criticism, while the Iranian exhibition in Israel received praise from art lovers and supporters of closer ties between nations. Israel and Iran have had no relations since the fall of the Pahlavi regime in Iran, and the animosity between them has escalated in recent years due to Iran's nuclear program, which Israeli political leadership considers a 'vital threat' to the country. Despite this, during this crisis-laden period between the two governments, some independent figures in Israel, such as artists, have made efforts to understand the facets of Iranian life, art, and culture, which have generally been well received by Israelis. The Israeli President, who took his grandchildren to visit the Iranian art exhibition, speaks Arabic fluently and has studied the Arabic language. Mr. Rivlin's father was an Arabic linguist and a specialist in the history of Arab countries and Palestinians, and he was the first to translate the Holy Quran from Arabic to Hebrew.