JustASC

Great local twist to this story, about a naked statue that is offending middle school parents in Delray Beach, Florida.

The sculpture, of three naked people representing the liberation of Ethiopian Jewry, was originally commissioned by the United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ and a casting still marks the entrance of their headquarters (and my newspaper’s!) in Whippany. Above, the sight that greets me every morning.

There’s a difference between the Florida nude and ours, however: The NJ version has a fig leaf covering the adult male figure’s impressive genitals, added following complaints after the statue’s unveiling in 1993.

Highlights of the Palm Beach Post story  after the jump:

The set of three larger-than-life bronze sculptures at the entrance to Addison Plaza in suburban Delray Beach sit just across from Morikami Park Elementary School. They depict the flight of African Jews fleeing war-torn Ethiopia in 1991 to avoid an almost-certain slaughter.

The family is naked – and anatomically correct.

“It just needs to go somewhere else,” said Marc Finkelstein, whose children attend the school. “This is not the art district of the world. Kids do not need to see things that are meant for adults. It’s not even realistic. It looks like a martian.”

In Ethiopia, female toplessness is the norm and in some African tribes men go nude waist-down at stick-fighting tournaments to catch the eye of a prospective bride.

The sculpture entitled, “Journey to the New,” by Itzik Asher has been on display at the Palm Beach International Airport, Mizner Park and the Kravis Center before it was placed at the entrance to the Addison Shops on Jog Road south of Linton Boulevard. The Israeli-born Asher, who also has a home in Boca Raton, was commissioned to craft the sculpture depicting the Israeli military mission to fly Ethiopian Jews to Israel, dubbed Operation Solomon, by an American Jewish organization in 1993.

The owner of the shopping center who has rotated the sculpture around the shops said it offers a lesson in racism, genocide and humanity.

“What you place your attention on is what is important,” said Rick Caster. “If you celebrate the meaning behind this work of art and use it as a teachable moment, that is the lesson a child will take. You’ve got a couple parents, rabble rousers. They are completely missing the point.”