After nearly a week of protests over a work of art on display at the Haifa Museum of Art that the local Christian community deems "offensive," the museum has agreed to remove "McJesus," by Finnish artist Janei Leionen.
The piece has been on display since August as part of an exhibit on consumer culture titled "Sacred Goods." It portrays Ronald McDonald crucified in the manner of Jesus on a wooden cross.
Christians also described other artwork in the exhibit as offensive, but only "McJesus" will be taken down.
Haifa Mayor Einat Kalisch-Rotem said in a message she posted to Facebook that she had decided to respect the sensitivities of the Christian public and church leaders in Israel and have the piece removed from display in the museum, which receives funding from the Haifa Municipality.
"We believe in freedom of expression as one of the foundations of democracy. We regret any distress caused to the Christian community in Haifa and the physical violence that followed. We thank the church heads and Christian priests in Haifa for holding dialogue and for their desire to build bridges and make an effort to reach a solution," Kalisch-Rotem wrote.
Local Christians staged a protest outside the museum last Friday, demanding that "McJesus" be taken down. The protest turned violent and three police officers were wounded by rocks thrown at them by demonstrators.
Christian officials denigrated the violence but insisted that the piece be removed, a demand echoed by Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev.
