Taking a stand in Millburn
Pro-Israel group rallies against art seen as an incentive to violence
Last week, a group estimated at between 100 to 150 people — Jews and non-Jews, including some local politicians — gathered in Millburn, outside the Green Door Studio, to protest the art that the gallery’s owner, Emily Konopinski, had on exhibit.
The artist, Kyle Goen, produces work that “intentionally blurs the lines between art and activism,” and his art “hangs in the service of struggle,” according to his website. The “Free Palestine movement” is one of his causes, and it is the pieces advancing that movement — with such messages as Globalize the Intifada, and with such images as Leila Khaled, the iconic terrorist hijacker — that hung in Millburn and appalled the demonstrators, who see them as a call to violence against Jews.
People heard about the protest largely by word of mouth, through WhatsApp groups, on Facebook, with other online posts, and then with flyers. It was a grassroots endeavor, although some loosely organized groups joined in. There were speakers, there was music, there were American and Israeli flags, and there was a general feeling of solidarity against a perceived threat.
David Silberberg of Millburn was at the demonstration.
“We were there to protest what we feel is naked antisemitism and a false narrative, and also to protect our fellow Jews,” he said. His activism is propelled by his family history, he said. “I am an American Jew, but my father was in the Holocaust. So I get this on a visceral level. When October 7 happened, I was like, ‘Never again.’”
The demonstration was “uneventful,” he said. “We expected a counterdemonstration, but they didn’t show up. There was an art class scheduled in the gallery” — Green Door also offers art classes and runs kids’ birthday parties — “but it was canceled.
“There were speeches, music, some chanting, some picture taking — it was all quite peaceful.”
He was struck by the Green Door’s location, across the street from Chai Center Judaica, a gift store run by the local Chabad. “It’s like when the Nazis marched in Skokie,” he said. He was talking about what happened in the Chicago suburb that was home to very many Holocaust survivors in 1977, when a group of American Nazis chose to march there. Many ugly legal fights followed; the Nazis won the right to march, but it fizzled.
“It’s the same reason why they have to use the term genocide when they’re talking about Jews and Israel, or when they call Gaza and open-air concentration camp. Really? Can you show me where the ovens are?”
He’s grateful to the support of the Philos Project, “a pro-Zionist Christian group that has supported us in the past,” he added.
David Troll of Millburn also was at the rally.
“It was inspiring to see so many people, Jews and non-Jews, from Millburn-Short Hills and surrounding towns and from as far away as NYC standing together in support of our shared values,” he wrote in an email. “The studio’s owner spent the past year using ‘art’ and ‘free expression’ as a justification for promoting hatred and violence.
“She curated another exhibit with vulgar, hostile slogans and images targeting the Jewish community and Israel, parroting the talking points of anti-American jihadists and literally celebrating a convicted terrorist. Unlike the places run by those murderers, she has the right to free speech here in NJ — but so do we.”
Ronen Levy, who lives in the city, heard about the protest and went to it, along with some friends.
“Why? Because I am an activist who stands for the support of Israel, and for its existence,” he said. “I have been doing this since October 8, 2023. I feel that it’s important for all Jewish people to stand together. If you’re from Brooklyn or Manhattan or Queens — some people came all the way from Queens! — or from New Jersey, we all should be there.
“I don’t like the fact that this gallery is publicizing stuff from terrorists who want to globalize the intifada. I think they’re trying to persuade their community to work against the Jewish people. It sows division.”
He has hope for the future. “I do see the world coming down on Israel and on the Jewish people, but I don’t think they’ll be successful,” he said. “We may be a small population, but we’re very strong.”
The demonstration in Millburn was peaceful, from start to finish, as its organizers and participants expected it would be, but that’s not always the case. He’s been at some that are entirely different and have turned violent, Mr. Levy said. “I’ve been punched in the face and I’ve been spat on. I punched back, and we both went to jail. I’ve had water bottles thrown on me, I’ve had my flag stolen from me, I‘ve been called an effen Jew — that person got arrested. I’ve been surrounded by terrorist supporters.
“There is real physical risk to some of this. You don’t know if you will come home or go to jail.”
Does he ever get scared? “No,” Mr. Levy said. “I am not scared. God is my only fear, and God is with us. I believe God is protecting us.”
One last question: why does he do what he does? “Because my family were from Azerbaijan, and they escaped from the Holocaust,” he said. Those family memories are strong.
Tali Gillette also was at the demonstration.
“After being sent images from a WhatsApp group, I was alarmed by the Green Door Studio’s decision to showcase Kyle Goen’s work — especially in front of children,” she wrote in an email. “Concerned about the seriousness of the situation and the safety of the community, I traveled to New Jersey to offer support and raise awareness about Goen.
“Far from being just another artist, Goen is a key architect of an insidious network that has spent decades embedding antisemitic, anti-American, and anarchist ideologies into movements like Occupy Wall Street, Decolonize This Place, BLM, BDS, and Free Palestine, all under the guise of social justice.”
Ms. Gillette, who graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, moved from her work in television and film to launch a high-end jewelry brand, “but after October 7, I shifted my focus to combating hate-driven ideologies and misinformation,” she said. “I lead initiatives like ZEROHATE Conversations and the Demonstrate Hope Not Hate campaign, both committed to transforming global flashpoints from catalysts of division into conduits of connection.”
She has been working with Brandy Shufutinsky. “I’m an academic social worker, writer, and researcher working to counter the illiberal takeover of our education system,” Dr. Shufutinsky said; she’s been published widely, and is now the director of education and community engagement with the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values.
Together, the pair “are set to release ‘The Hidden Blueprint: How a Radical Network is Re-engineering American Minds and Society Under the Banner of Free Palestine,’ exposing the key figures and calculated campaign of hate and manipulation,” Ms. Gillette said.
“This isn’t about art, it’s about a legacy of deception designed to divide communities.
“The Free Palestine movement, often perceived as grassroots activism for social justice, appears to function as a coordinated network of individuals and organizations. While presenting themselves as distinct and independent, evidence suggests they have operated as a unified front for nearly two decades. This network has utilized social, political, educational, academic, and cultural platforms to promote narratives that many interpret as antisemitic, anti-Israel, and anti-American. This investigation explores the hidden alliances and strategies behind the movement, shedding light on its use of global platforms to advance a divisive and potentially harmful agenda.”
Three other participants in the demonstrations — all local, and two of them among its organizers — were willing to talk about it, but did not feel comfortable having their names published. They’re afraid of the repercussions for their work, their families, and their safety.
“It was a great rally,” one of them said. “People were in good spirits.
“The Globalize the Intifada and the picture of Leila Khalid were the trigger,” she continued. “Kids attend classes there, and this is what they have to see? People coming into the gallery who maybe don’t know so much about it, when they see the intifada portrayed as a peaceful rebellion — this is false information.
“We have to stop the misinformation that people are being fed.”
Rabbi Daniel Cohen leads Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel in South Orange. He was not at the demonstration, but he and his rabbinic colleagues have fielded many calls about it, he said, and so he’s thought about it a great deal.
“There is clarity among everyone I’ve talked to that it is entirely appropriate to have an art installation that is supportive of the Palestinian people,” Rabbi Cohen said.
“But when it crosses into inciting violence — which is what it’s doing by calling for global intifada — that’s crossing a line.
“You can pretend that the words mean something else, but a call for global intifada is a call for violence against Jews globally.
“I applaud the people who have organized to demonstrate. They’ve done it respectfully. They’ve done it appropriately.
“I do worry because it’s a very hard judgment call, with situations like this, about how to respond.
“On one hand, you want to make it clear that it is unacceptable that people incite violence, and hopefully others who see it will make a choice as to whether or not they want to patronize a store that does that. That’s their choice, but they should have the information so they can make that choice.
“But on the other hand, I do worry that it has the potential to simply call attention to the gallery and do free marketing for it. And I don’t think there’s any clear formula about how to respond.
“So I do worry that some of the demonstrations and counterdemonstrations that we’ve seen over the last 14 months have tried to match shouting with shouting. That hasn’t happened here, and I applaud the people who organized it.”
When the provocation is less public, the outcome might be different, Rabbi Cohen continued. Soon after October 7, there was a meeting to protest Israel in the basement of the Maplewood public library, and some defenders of Israel wanted to demonstrate against it. “And the situation was, well, we can go and demonstrate and call attention to it, or we can let 15 people meet in the library basement. So they decided not to demonstrate, and in the end 15 people met in the basement.
“The best way to deal with that was not to give it oxygen.
“There’s no science or formula for when to do something and when it’s better not to, and I do understand the need to do something,” Rabbi Cohen continued.
“It’s pretty clear from the conversations that people have had with her” — the Green Door’s owner, Emily Konopinski — “that have been reported to me, that she’s pretty intractable.
“And so the only thing I think we can do is to let people understand this is a business that has chosen to use art to call for violence. People who now are informed can make a choice.
“This is not a place I would ever shop. I choose to put my money and my time into places that are productive, that are not ugly, that are not hateful.”
Ms. Konopinski responded by email to emailed questions about the exhibit.
She pointed out that among its other collaboration, “in 2023 the Jespy House of South Orange partnered with Green Door to exhibit a portrait show, showcasing the photography of artists who are also Jespy House residents. There are exciting partnerships already planned for the 2025 calendar, including work with NAWA, the National Association for Women Artists.”
JESPY House is a nonprofit organization that works with special-needs adults; its history and values are rooted and some of its funding comes from Jewish organizations, including the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest.
She went on, unedited:
“On the question of messaging and Mr. Goen’s collection, The Palestine Suite, which he defines as a ‘movement generated poster archive,’ his message is clear, and I’d warn against reducing it to the message of one poster isolated from the rest. It is a timeline of resistance to oppression, it illustrates the desire for self determination and freedom, and the examines realities when these things are denied to some.
“From a curatorial aspect, it aligned with this year’s poster theme, Posters, Propaganda and the Revolution and it is incredibly timely given the crisis we witness daily on our phones, and the timing of the US election and all of it’s complexities.
“On the question of community, division, cause etc, much of the criticism (towards me, the posters, and so forth) was posted on social media groups of which I am not a member, and could not participate.
“Facts are important, and many falsehoods are being widely spread.
“It is a case of telephone game, and unfortunately all of the participants are adults, many of them setting examples for our youth. This sort of echo chamber is very dangerous in my opinion and lends itself to creating active threats to the community. Three adult protesters were identified on camera vandalizing the building during the second protest, and there is an open criminal investigation at the Millburn police department. This is truly unfortunate and unnecessary, sending what I believe is the opposite message of the majority of the protesters.
“I strongly believe that where people want to learn, grow and achieve peace together, it will happen. I do not believe this happens when people attempt to censor art, ban books or avoid things that trigger our deepest emotions, and speak to our fears. As an art gallery owner I am designing an experience in order to make us think, make us move, make us pause, or maybe make us change. Once the exhibit is up, I leave it to the audience.”
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