By Randa Darwish
An artwork showing a crucified Ronald McDonald entitled “McJesus” has sparked protests among Arab Christians in Israel.
The depiction of Ronald McDonald on a cross was sculpted by Finnish artist Jani Leinonen and has been displayed in Haifa museum’s “Sacred Goods” exhibit since August 2018. However, it has recently gained attention by Palestinian Christian citizens of Israel who were offended by it demanding its removal.
The show, that is originally on consumerism and the “references mega-corporations’ cynical use of religious symbols”, also features other sculptures depicting Jesus; including one of him as “Ken” doll and Virgin Mary as “Barbie” doll. It had led hundreds of Christians to streets to protest in front of the Haifa Museum of Art during the weekend.
Protesters were prevented from breaking into the museum to remove the piece after throwing stones at security forces. Media also reported that a man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer.
In response, Israel’s Culture Minister Miri Regev demanded the director general of Haifa Museums to remove the artwork from display as she had received several complaints of “serious offense” caused to the Christian community feelings.
Later on and following a meeting between the heads of Haifa churches and the museum's director general, the museum decided to place a sign warning of potentially offensive content at the entrance of the exhibit.
The artist, Leinon also explained his point of view saying it means to depict the way “Ronald McDonald has become a pop culture symbol reminiscent of religious worship”.
On Twitter, many Arab Christians went to weigh in on the controversy condemning the display of offensive sculptures.
Other Christians had another opinion on it.
According to the Jerusalem Post citing the artist saying the controversial sculpture was never supposed to be in the Haifa Museum of Art in the first place. However, the pro-BDS artist said he refused to display his work in Israel where authorities use culture as a form of propaganda to whitewash its occupation and apartheid in Palestine.
Consequently, many Israelis criticized the artist for supporting BDS and criticizing Israel.
