suzanne klotz writes:

"Arizona City Arts and Culture Commissioner Calls for Art Censorship"
Suzanne Klotz

In June 2004 I enrolled as a student in a college digital story telling workshop to create a digital introduction to a book I recently completed. The content of my digital story includes:

1) Israeli violations of Palestinian human rights that I witnessed in Palestine between 1991 and 1995;
2) Quotes by rabbis stating that the Israeli Zionist government falsely represents itself as being affiliated with Judaism and Jews.
3) Excerpts from letters written to Ariel Sharon by Israeli soldiers who are imprisoned because they won't inflict war crimes on the entire Palestinian population.

Knowing this is a sensitive subject I requested that the president of the college view my story on two separate occasions before the college was credited with the production. I was assured both times that it had been viewed and the college wanted and required production credit.My digital story was shown to class members and their invited guests. Prior to the viewing, I stated twice that it was imperative not to have a verbal introduction, and if there was one I refused to have my DVD shown. I was assured there would be no verbal introduction. It was later shown to members of the Sedona, Arizona City Arts and Culture Commission, partially responsible for funding the workshop. The following are excerpts pertaining to my digital story that were printed on the front page of the main Sedona newspaper, Red Rock News, on June 9, 2004:

Newspaper article:
Sedona Red Rock News
The Voice of Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon for more than 40 years
9 June 2004

Student's Story Ignites Controversy
Arts and Culture Vice Chairman Objects To Use of Funds

The showing of a student digital story led to an emotional exchange on the role of public funding for certain kinds of artistic expression during a June 3 meeting of the city's Arts and Culture Commission. The routine commission meeting flared into controversy following the showing of 'A Pocket Guide to the Other Holy Land,' which had been produced by Yavapai College student Suzanne Klotz. After explaining his objections to the film, particularly the use of public funds in its production, Marty Herman, vice chairman of the Arts and Culture Commission and owner of Exposures International Gallery of Fine Art, walked out of the meeting in protest.

Klotz had been a student in the first of three classes on the art of digital storytelling partially funded by a grant to Yavapai College by the city of Sedona through the Arts and Culture Commission. Before the showing of Klotz's story, Uzumeckis, Director of Dana Atchley Center for Digital Storytelling at Yavapai College and Sedona Center for Arts and Technology (and workshop leader), said that members of the Jewish faith, in particular, might find Klotz's work to be offensive.

The story Klotz told in her short digital piece was of the oppression of Palestinians, by Israeli authorities in Palestine.

Following the showing, some commission members praised Uzumeckis for facilitating his students' expression of difficult, personal issues. Herman had a different reaction. He said that the film was 'a Political point of view under the guise of a story.' Herman said Klotz's work was 'inaccurate, inflammatory and offensive.' He said it was 'completely unacceptable' to use public money for such a purpose. Klotz's digital story 'shouldn't exist with public money,' he said.

Herman said he intended to request a copy of the story from the city and wanted the City Council to view it. City Attorney Mike Goimarac said the showing of the copyrighted digital story in a commission meeting did not make it a public record the city could make available to the public.

Herman said that as the owner of an art gallery, 'I'm very sensitive to art expression and am very supportive of free speech. At the same time', Herman said, 'I have a healthy respect for other people. I wouldn't have an item that would purposefully offend someone.' Herman said that as vice chairman of the Arts and Culture Commission and chairman of the commission's grants committee, 'I didn't really understand what the community college was going to do with their arts money. They did know it was going to be offensive, and it really was.'

Yavapai College failed to provide proper oversight, Herman said. 'It was a Yavapai College failure, not a city of Sedona failure.' There is an obligation of good judgment and good taste that was not met, he said.

Because the city cannot anticipate everything that might be done as a result of the grants it awards, it requires agencies receiving such funds to sign a release of liability form. This was done in the case of the grant to Yavapai College. There is a sense of bitter irony in his having recommended the awarding of the grant, Herman said, because Klotz's digital story is 'anti-Semitic, anti-Jewish and anti-Israel.'

Herman said he wanted to effect a change in the mechanism used to give out grants moneys. 'We need to look at how to create an environment: to see how to prevent this,' he said.

Personal consequences to the 'student' who created the digital story after the publication of the article:

Shortly after the article was printed I, Suzanne Klotz, was contacted and questioned by an FBI agent who requested to meet with me in my home, having been reported anonymously as an Israeli Intelligence spy. I refused to meet with him, and instead retained the services of a Federal Defense Attorney. I received several obscene phone calls for the next month, an 11:00 pm unknown male visitor pounding on my door demanding that I open it, and I was contacted by a college public relations representative who requested that I have my digital story reproduced elsewhere, that I was not talk to anyone about my digital story for two to three weeks, requested not to ever show it in Sedona or contact the media or press in Sedona or Arizona. Faculty and staff, where I am employed as adjunct faculty, received memos stating they were not to talk to me or others about my story because it was "political." In exchange for my silence I was told the college would write a letter to the editor on my behalf. I stipulated that the letter had to state that my digital story is pro-Judaism, pro-Jews and pro-Palestinian human rights, not simply anti-Semitic. After this was agreed upon I kept my side of the bargain, and also had my digital story reproduced elsewhere, at considerable expense to myself and others in both time and money.

When the three weeks were over I was sent an email from a college representative that stated:

'I read the 'Letter to the Editor' that you proposed which did not contain the language (your editor provided to you by the college) provided. We ask that you remove the disclaimer that you wrote for Yavapai College. We cannot provide a disclaimer on your behalf.'

The real irony of this entire event is that my "offensive' digital story was created to fulfill the objectives of a grant I received from a national arts foundation, The Puffin Foundation, Ltd. It was founded by the Rosenstein Family in 1987 to support socially relevant art, because due to its relevance, it is prone to unwarranted verbal attacks and calls for censorship.

During the past fourteen years I have conducted numerous exhibits, lectures and workshops addressing the same information that is in the digital story. All of these venues were supported and applauded for their social relevance and informed delivery, even in Israel, where anything deemed even remotely anti-Semitic would be rightfully condemned and banned. I find it very disconcerting that the false accusations of one person, responsible for upholding and insuring the protection and preservation of the arts, can so quickly and expediently censor the arts and education of an entire community. Neither Marty Herman, who still holds his position as vice chairman, nor the newspaper, college, or City Arts and Culture Commission have ever contacted me.

As both an educator, dedicated to the education of students and the general public, and an artist, dedicated to utilizing art as a vehicle for educating and uniting humanity, I find that allowing an arts commissioner to retain a position of authority after publicly defiling an artists work with false accusations, defaming an artist's character, and putting out a call for censorship of the arts is not only offensive, it's irresponsible and socially degrading to the entire community. Until Americans (Jewish or not) learn the difference between Judaism (a religion) and Zionism (founded by a professed agnostic with a national, ANTI-Judaism and ANTI-all religions objective) Jews will continue to be persecuted and blamed for Zionist war crimes, and the Zionists will continue committing them. Ignorance is not bliss, unless, of course, you're a Zionist.

Suzanne Klotz
www.suzanneklotz.com