Royal Academy artwork suggests Israeli pilots are morally inferior to Hamas

A sketch in the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition in London appears to suggest the Israeli Air Force – which, it says, is “massacring women and children with impunity” – is morally inferior to Hamas.

The artwork by British sculptor Michael Sandle shows an IAF pilot standing in front of a ruined building and, next to him, a masked Hamas gunman.

A caption placed under the Israeli pilot reads: “Apropos Terror: Pilot doesn’t hear the screams of the women and children he is massacring with impunity.” There is no caption under the Hamas gunman. 

The charcoal and pencil drawing is currently listed on the Royal Academy website for £25,000.

One visitor to the exhibition commented that the artwork “seems to suggest the Hamas fighter is the braver of the pair.

“The piece doesn’t offer much space for interpretation but is instead pointed and lazy. The artist is really just questioning if Hamas are actually as bad as Israeli pilots.”

Another visitor said: “It’s one thing to highlight the suffering on both sides of this humanitarian crisis, but to portray it in this one-sided way and to imply the IDF figure is some sort of psychopath. It’s really low. And somehow I doubt I’ll find any artworks lamenting the mass murder of Jews on October 7 in this exhibition.”

The exhibition, which is the world’s largest open submission contemporary art show, is displaying more than 1,700 works by emerging, amateur, professional and established artists.

An artwork by artist Michael Sandle entitled 'Apropos Terror: Pilot doesn’t hear the screams of the women and children he is massacring with impunity' (Credit: Royal Academy)[Missing Credit]

Michael Sandle did not respond to requests for comment.

It comes after the Royal Academy displayed three controversial pieces about the conflict in Gaza last year that depicted Israel in a negative light, leading to the Board of Deputies of British Jews filing an official complaint.

One of the three pieces, entitled “The Mass Slaughter Of Defenceless Women And Children Is Not How You Deradicalise Gaza” – displayed in the 2024 Summer Show and also by Sandle – featured a fighter plane emblazoned with the Star of David in front of bodies in burial shrouds.

At the time, the Board questioned the judgment of the Academy for allowing pictures with “highly politically charged and controversial messages” into the exhibition with no context and without works expressing a contrary view. “It risks giving the impression that the Royal Academy is taking a political stance on a very controversial issue, which would seem at odds with its objectives, not to mention its charitable status,” the Board said.

In response, the Royal Academy apologised “for any hurt and distress” the pieces caused and removed two artworks from last year’s Young Artists’ Summer Show, but did not take down Sandle’s piece in the main exhibition.

An artwork by artist Michael Sandle entitled 'The mass slaughter of defenceless women and children is not how you deradicalise Gaza" (Credit: Royal Academy)[Missing Credit]

Responding to the JC’s request for comment regarding the newly displayed piece by Sandle, the Academy said the Summer Exhibition was curated by a committee of its members, who are each entitled to submit up to six works, while the rest of the exhibition is made up of pieces from artists invited by committee members and from open public submissions, which are judged and selected by the committee to form the majority of the show.

“Works in the exhibition often reflect current societal and political topics. Inclusion of works in the Summer Exhibition should not be read as the Royal Academy supporting any particular artist’s point of view,” a spokesperson said. “We always take all concerns about artworks on display in the Summer Exhibition seriously. However our role, as an artist and architect-led organisation is to allow all artists the ability to express themselves.

"The Royal Academy is an organisation led by artists and architects and is committed to freedom of expression.”

The Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition this year runs from June 17 to August 17 at Burlington House in Mayfair.