Israeli Artist's Show In Mexico City Closes After Antisemitic Harassment

(MENAFN- USA Art News) König Gallery in Mexico City Closes Amir Fattal's“I'm Just Here For The Pool” Early After Antisemitic Vandalism

König gallery in Mexico City has ended“I'm Just Here For The Pool,” a solo exhibition by Berlin-based Israeli artist Amir Fattal, a week earlier than planned after harassment surrounding the show intensified into in-person protests and vandalism.

Images and videos shared by Fattal show the gallery's exterior marked with swastikas and other graffiti, including stars of David, an anarchist symbol, and the numbers“666,” a reference commonly associated with the devil. Above the entrance, the phrase“acqui hay terroristas” was carved into the surface - Spanish for“here there are terrorists.”

The exhibition opened February 3. Fattal, who has lived in Berlin for more than two decades and maintains a studio in Mexico City where he typically spends winters, said the first six weeks of the run passed without incident. He estimated that an online harassment campaign began around 10 days before the closure, bringing what he described as“hundreds of hate messages and comments” across multiple posts. According to the artist, the accounts appeared to belong to real individuals rather than automated bots.

Fattal said the situation shifted from digital abuse to physical confrontation during a guided tour at the gallery, when roughly 15 demonstrators gathered outside and began chanting. He alleged that protesters called him“a murderer” and“a Mossad agent.” The group later returned during another event, he said, and the vandalism occurred while he remained inside the gallery for safety.

On the first occasion, Fattal said police were called and escorted him from the premises due to concerns about his security. He claimed that during the second incident, officers spoke with protest organizers and then left shortly afterward, not returning despite repeated requests. Fattal said authorities were aware of the damage but that he was not aware of any police investigation into the vandalism. Mexico City police did not respond to requests for comment.

König gallery did not respond to a request for comment. Fattal said the gallery had been“incredibly supportive” as the situation unfolded.

Based on what he described as the speed and scale of the escalation - from online attacks to coordinated demonstrations and defacement of the building - Fattal characterized the harassment as“coordinated.” He also suggested the backlash was triggered by the discovery that he was born in Tel Aviv, noting that his social media presence is focused on his work and does not foreground political content.

The incident arrives amid heightened concern across the cultural sector about the global rise in anti-Jewish discrimination, and about how quickly targeted online campaigns can spill into real-world intimidation. For galleries and institutions, the closure underscores a difficult question: how to protect artists, staff, and audiences while keeping exhibition spaces open to the public.

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