Rantz: Wing Luke Museum banned exhibit to appease antisemitic staff. Now, Jews fight back

The Wing Luke Museum in Seattle banned an exhibit— which aimed to “confront hate” against Jews—in order to appease its antisemitic staff. Now, Jewish community members and our allies are pushing back.

Half the staff of the Wing Luke Museum walked off the job in May because of the exhibit, “Confronting Hate Together.” The exhibit was meant to call out bigotry facing the Jewish, black, and Asian communities. It was controversial to 26 members of the Wing Luke Museum staff because it called out those who use claims of being “anti-Zionist” as a mask for their antisemitism. It condemned the virulently antisemitic campus protests that took campuses, including the University of Washington, hostage, with activists openly siding with Hamas and justifying the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks.

Previous coverage: Wing Luke Museum closes after employees walk out in protest of ‘Hate’ exhibit

In social media posts, a group that said it represented the antisemitic boycotters, accused Israel of “violent colonization and imperialism” and declared, “Zionism has no place in our communities.”

The 26 staff members who walked off the job, shuttering the museum for a week, were the very people who so desperately needed to visit the exhibit. Instead, they demanded the Jewish portion of the exhibit be redrafted to include “pro-Palestinian” positions.

“We love the Wing Luke Museum and are consistently honored to steward the stories of our community members, many of whom have experienced the destructive harm of white supremacy, genocide and violence that parallels the experience of Palestinians today,” the group posted in a statement. “Our solidarity with Palestine should be reflected in our AA/NHPI institutions. It sets a dangerous precedent of platforming colonial, white supremacist perspectives and goes against the Museum’s mission as a community-based museum advancing racial and social equity.”

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Wing Luke Museum gave in to antisemitism

Rather that fire its antisemitic staff members, declaring museum leadership wants nothing to do with bigoted staff that reflect poorly on its mission, the Wing Luke Museum caved. The museum canceled the exhibit. They told the Jewish organizations behind the exhibit that Jews will have to confront the hate alone.

Joël Barraquiel Tan, executive director of the Wing Luke Museum, wrote an editorial in the Seattle Times about the “lessons” he learned from this ordeal. His lessons were “not to shame or blame or to justify our recent conflict, but as a resource, presented to navigate crises and protect our beloved cultural institutions.” It’s apparently controversial to shame or blame antisemites.

“Unlike universities and larger organizations, grassroots BIPOC-led organizations, like ours, don’t have the resources to survive prolonged crises,” Tan said, an explanation as to why the museum kowtowed to its antisemitic staff.

This pathetic editorial proves that this cowardly man hasn’t learned a thing—not from his own mistakes, nor from history’s clear lessons: hate begets hate, and appeasing bigotry only makes it worse. But he might soon learn a lesson, courtesy of the Jewish community.

A call to action

Jewish Americans are posting links to email the Wing Luke Museum and its benefactors their thoughts on embracing hate. The letter is prewritten and addressed to dozens of people who help allow Wing Luke Museum to operate. This action was organized by an anonymous group of advocates and shared on social media and in Jewish WhatsApp groups.

“Your institution’s failure to discipline the staff members who walked out over this issue is particularly concerning. This inaction suggests a tolerance for views that marginalize and exclude Jewish voices, undermining the very purpose of the exhibit—to confront hate and foster understanding among different communities,” the email reads in part.

The email concludes with a demand that the museum — and its benefactors — “publicly reaffirm your commitment to inclusivity and the fight against all forms of discrimination, including antisemitism.”

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No, we shouldn’t be so forgiving

I can appreciate the advocates’ ask. But I’m less forgiving.

I don’t need or want the Wing Luke Museum to reaffirm anything. When they canceled the exhibit, the museum already reaffirmed its commitment to antisemitism. And they shouldn’t get a pass.

The Jew-hating staff should have been terminated. Instead, they were rewarded. The exhibit should have continued. Instead, it was handed off to other groups to feature.

The Wing Luke Museum had the opportunity to do the right thing and they gave in because they “don’t have the resources to survive prolonged crises.” Well, then I hope it doesn’t survive this new crisis, brought to its doorstep by Jews and our allies.

The museum’s sponsors should not get a pass either. For every a day their season sponsor’s stay committed to the museum, it’s a day that they reaffirm their support of antisemitism.

The sponsors, according to their website, include Bank of America, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Bellevue Collection, AARP Washington, Expedia Group, the Seattle Sounders FC, Alaska Airlines, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Meta, US Bank and Wells Fargo.

If you’d like to email those responsible for succumbing to hate, click here. (The links only work on mobile devices.)

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