Businessman Sammy Ofer is canceling his $20 million donation for construction of a new wing of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. Ofer and his wife, Aviva, published the cancellation in the “Ha’aretz” Hebrew daily in an announcement entitled, “Excuse Me for Wanting to Donate.” They wrote that, in view of the campaign of defamation against them, the Tel Aviv municipality, and the museum’s management, they had decided to end the affair, and were withdrawing their donation.
Ofer made his hefty contribution contingent on construction of a new museum wing, at an estimated cost of $45 million, and on adding his wife’s name and his own to the museum’s title. Although the Tel Aviv City Council and the museum’s management approved this, it caused a major controversy. “A small group of slander campaign managers stopped at nothing to besmirch our names. Instead of gratitude, they responded with ingratitude,” the Ofers complained. “Unfortunately, we can no longer bear the thought that an act stemming solely from a desire to help is causing an ugly campaign of defamation. There is a limit to what human beings can bear -- making a huge and unprecedented donation for the benefit of Israeli art, and being maligned for our pains. We therefore have no further interest in making a donation, and we have decided to relieve those concerned about our donation and names, which they found so disturbing.”
The Ofers went on to say that they expected that “the organizers of the vocal and vociferous campaign” to collect the money themselves, as they had said they would. For their part, the Ofers are willing to contribute to such a fundraising campaign. “If they do not do so, history will judge their deeds, and determine whether benefiting art was really their motive,” they wrote.
Measures taken to prevent a change in the museum’s name included an appeal to the State Comptroller to examine the propriety of the agreement between Ofer and the museum, an administrative petition against the agreement filed by Tel Aviv municipality council member Gila Hertz, and a petition with thousands of signatures. The Israel Council of Museums asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to suspend its approval, pending professional consideration of the matter.
The Marc Rich Foundation in Israel, founded by Mark Rich, who previously made a donation for construction of the wing in memory of Gabriela Rich, recently announced that it would freeze millions of dollars that it had planned to donate to the museum.
The museum said in response, “The Tel Aviv Museum of Art thanks Sammy and Aviva Ofer for their generosity, and greatly regrets their decision to cancel their $20 million donation towards a new museum wing. Such a rare opportunity created by the good will of the donor and the Tel Aviv municipality was missed because of narrow-mindedness and unfounded claims. It is particularly painful that such a welcome attempt to present Israeli art in a broad and historically coherent way encountered severe and irrelevant criticism, which led the donors to cancel their donation. Nevertheless, we believe that, with the help of joint efforts by all the museum’s donors and lovers of Israeli art, we will succeed in finding the resources to face this important challenge.”
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on February 1, 2006