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DECEMBER 30, 2021 | The Jewish Home
pass.” In addition to his Presidential Medal of Freedom and the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize, Tutu in 2012 was awarded a $1 million grant by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation for “his lifelong commitment to speaking truth to power.” In 2013, he received the Templeton Prize for his “life-long work in advancing spiritual principles such as love and forgiveness which has helped to liberate people around the world.” A seven-day mourning period is planned in Cape Town before Tutu’s burial, including a two-day lying in state, an ecumenical service and an Anglican requiem mass at St. George’s Cathedral in Cape Town. Cape Town’s Table Mountain will be lit in purple, the color of the robes Tutu wore as archbishop.
The Art Mecca of the Middle East Qatar has announced an ambitious plan to expand its public art program, ahead of its hosting the 2022 Fifa World Cup.
The Qatar Museums, a state-run organization which includes many of the country’s cultural institutions, has said it will display over 40 new and commissioned works by Qatari and international artists in public spaces in the capital of Doha, as well as surrounding cities.
According to a press release, the plan is to turn the local landscape into “a vast outdoor art museum experience.” Qatar Museums’ Director of Public Art Abdulrahman Ahmed Al-Ishaq said, “As the rest of the world turns their eyes on Doha, we thought one of the best ways to introduce ourselves and create a dialogue would be through art in the public sphere. “All the artwork we’re showcasing will fit within the context of Doha and Qatar. It will be placed
strategically or territorially to reflect something about our country,” he added. “The aesthetics of both artworks complement their selected locations.” Al-Ishaq also emphasized, “Having local artists showcase their work was a must for us. This is an opportunity to shed some light on the wealth of talent from Qatar and its neighboring countries and give them the platform they deserve.” Noting that the program’s new additions will bring the total number of works displayed to 100, he said, “Since the very start, we’ve been working towards bringing art outside of museum walls.” He added, “Looking ahead, we want Qatar to become the region’s main art hub – the art Mecca of the Middle East.” Included in the displays are Tom Claassen’s “Falcon” outside the Hamad International Airport, Bruce Nauman’s “Untitled (Trench, Shafts, Pit, Tunnel and Chamber),” and Isa Genzken’s monumental “Two Orchids.”
Compensation for Tragic Loss
The Gross family, whose daughters Avigayil and Yael were killed in a 2014 pesticide disaster, is set to receive 3.5 million NIS ($1,130,199) in monetary compensation. According to journalist Lia Spilkin, the compensation will be paid by the exterminator, as well as by the clinic where the girls were examined after the pesticide poisoning but whose representative determined that it was a virus that would pass. In January 2014, Yael, 2, and Avigayil, 4, died after exterminator Yosef Zvi Barko sprayed a chemical in their Jerusalem apartment, using it as a pesticide to kill cockroaches. The girls’ brothers, ages 5 and 7, were seriously injured from the fumes and re-
quired hospitalization. Their parents suffered moderate injuries. Although the family brought their children to the clinic after they complained of nausea and headaches and told the doctors that their home had been treated with pesticides, the clinicians ignored the possibility that their children had been poisoned by the gases emitting from the pesticides. In 2017, the Jerusalem District Court convicted Barko of two counts of manslaughter and four counts of grievous bodily harm. As part of a plea bargain, Barko, who admitted to committing the offenses, was sentenced to three years in prison and committed to pay immediate compensation totaling 200,000 NIS ($64,563) to the family.
Officer Cleared in Sniper’s Death
An IDF probe examining the death of Border Police officer Barel Hadarya Shmueli earlier this year concluded that his death was the result of a “professional error,” not of negligence. The results of the probe were released on Monday and shared with Shmueli’s family. They included several errors in how the IDF responded to the riot itself, but cleared the officers involved and disputed the claim that the cause of Shmueli’s death was restrictive open-fire regulations. In the summary of its investigation, the IDF wrote, “The decision to move and set up along the border according to plan, based on past experience and intelligence information, when the rioters were right next to it and its disadvantages outweighed its advantages, was a professional error in retrospect. The use of live, deadly weapons by the rioters next to the ‘Wall of Courage’ was not expected.” The probe added, “The open-fire policies and rules of engagement allowed for freedom of action to hit the primary and incendiary rioters, and indeed significantly more shots were fired compared to during previous riots.” Other errors included keeping the
