Artwork depicting Anne Frank wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh has ignited a fierce backlash in Germany, with Israeli officials and Jewish organizations accusing the artist and museum of desecrating Holocaust memory and drawing a moral equivalence between Israel and Nazi Germany.

The painting, by Italian artist Constantino Ciervo, is on display at the Fluxus+ Museum in Potsdam as part of an exhibition titled “Commune – The Paradox of Imagination in the Middle East Conflict.” The piece reimagines one of the most iconic photographs of Anne Frank—sitting at her desk during the Holocaust—by replacing her clothing with a red-and-white Palestinian keffiyeh.

The Israeli Embassy in Germany issued a blistering condemnation, calling the artwork “a prime example of a growing artistic trend” in which “behind the mask of artistic freedom lies a normalization of historical distortion, antisemitism and, ultimately, terrorism.” The embassy accused Ciervo of portraying Jews as “modern Nazis” and demanded the immediate removal of the piece.

Despite the criticism, both Ciervo and museum director Tamás Blaneschy have refused to remove the work.

“This work is about Israeli actions, not Judaism,” Ciervo said in a video posted to social media, rejecting claims of antisemitism. “I strongly reject the accusations against me.”

Blaneschy similarly defended the exhibition, insisting that the institution rejects antisemitism. “There is no place, there has never been a place, and there never will be a place for antisemitism in our institution,” he said.

Critics say that defense rings hollow.

Volker Beck, chairman of the Israeli-German Friendship Association and a former German lawmaker, has filed a formal police complaint against the exhibition’s curators. Beck argues that the painting violates Germany’s responsibility to protect Holocaust memory and trivializes Jewish suffering.

“The message is clear,” Beck said. “It suggests Israel is doing to Palestinians what the Nazis did to Anne Frank. Even if the artist is protected by freedom of expression, curators have a duty to prevent attacks on the dignity and memory of Jewish victims.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)