We strongly condemn the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) for its disgraceful censorship of Palestinian flags in an art exhibition, as reported by The Guardian on 20 February 2025.

This is not merely an assault on a piece of art—it’s an assault on Palestinian identity. The intentional removal of the Palestinian flag directly supports the ongoing Zionist effort to silence, degrade, and erase the Palestinian people from history. This is utterly disgraceful and intolerable.

Appalling act of censorship.

Two Palestinian flags on a tapestry at the National Gallery of Australia have been covered with white fabric, which the artists have labelled as an act of censorship (image below).

The Palestinian flag is a symbol of the Palestinian people and their culture. The National Gallery of Australia’s so-called excuse of a “high level” security risk is downright absurd. What they are really doing is attempting to erase the national identity of the Palestinian people and their culture. This is nothing short of a disgraceful and shameful act by the NGA equivalent to an ethnic cleansing.

Urgent steps must be taken now.

1. The NGA must promptly reinstate the artwork in its original form.

2. The NGA must immediately extend a formal apology to the artists and to all Palestinian people for this injustice.

3. The Australian Government must direct all public institutions to halt the suppression of Palestinian identity and culture, ensuring that Palestinian self-determination is protected in the arts and creative industries, not suppressed or censored.

We stand with the Palestinian people and call on all those with a sense of justice to demand the restoration of the artwork and an end to this shameful campaign of suppression.

Families for Palestine on unceded Aboriginal lands in “Sydney”
Newcastle Mums for Palestine Awabakal land
Teachers and Staff for Palestine NSW
Mountains for Palestine Darug and Gundungurra lands
City of Sydney for Palestine Gadigal land
Wollongong Friends of Palestine Dharawal Country
Social Workers for Palestine AU Naarm

Image source: Melbourne Turkish News

The statement was submitted via email and posted to the National Gallery of Australia and Tony Burke, Minister for the Arts, on 24 February 2025.