The subject he chose to tackle was Jewish pre- and post war patronage of visual art and its impact on the international art market. Being both art loving and fascinated with the Jewish identity, I decided to attend.
Memories of blackouts, eurekas, adrenaline rushes, disappointments, exhilaration, and relief flooded my mind. The storm of emotions I felt in this building was more overwhelming than the finale of a Rachmaninov concerto. Bearing in mind the Islamist terror attack that killed two Israeli tourists visiting the Jewish Museum in Brussels in , no risk could be taken in the presence of a predominantly Jewish audience, among which the Israeli ambassador.
Anti-Semitism, or anti-Zionism, as it is today labelled by anti-Semites who want to cover up their true conviction, is still a harsh reality in this post-Holocaust era. In the past decades, the hatred of Jews and their homeland has increased significantly in Europe and beyond β a regrettable but unsurprising trend that once again triggers Jewish exodi to other continents.
Before the professor started the lecture, he was introduced with many well-deserved superlatives by Vivian Liska, director of the IJS. Sitting hunched over on his chair, he reminded me of Noam Chomsky β you know, this Jewish-American, anti-Zionist, Pol Pot-apologist, self-described anarcho-syndicalist professor who believes Marx is God and America is the devil β frail, vulnerable, and on the verge of collapsing faster than Joe Biden on the stairs of Air Force One.
Great was my surprise when Cohen stood up with a straight back and addressed the attendees with the imposing, captivating voice of a Roman orator, filling no less than two hours with his speech without instigating a single moment of boredom in me, nor the rest of the attendees.
