Vilnius art students boycott lecturer over Israel views

Third-year animation students at the Vilnius Academy of Arts boycotted workshops by lecturer Dan Bereznickas over his views on Israel and Palestine, leading to their cancellation after only one student registered, LRT reported.

Bereznickas, a graphic artist, animator and director who has taught at the academy for several years, was due to lead week-long workshops as a visiting lecturer from Belgium. He said students had previously shown strong interest in the course.

According to Bereznickas, students objected to his position on the Israel-Palestine conflict and his service in the Israeli armed forces. He said they believed the course had professional value but did not want to study with someone they considered supportive of genocide.

The academy told LRT that the workshops were cancelled because too few students had enrolled. It denied ordering their cancellation to avoid a conflict. Bereznickas said an effort to open enrolment to more students was stopped by academy leadership, and criticised the institution for not trying to address the dispute through discussion.

Bereznickas said he keeps politics out of his teaching, although he expresses his views on social media and responds when asked. The students said their boycott was not antisemitic but was directed at a political movement.

The dispute follows earlier tensions at the academy’s Nida Art Colony. In 2024, an exhibition there included a Palestinian flag and the words “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” on an exterior wall. After the Jewish community and Israel’s embassy condemned the display, police were notified, but no pre-trial investigation was opened.

Bereznickas said police had also been called to Nida over a torn poster supporting Palestine. He filed a complaint with academy leadership about the exhibition, saying he considered the symbols antisemitic.