Israel has cancelled an exhibition in China on the life of Albert Einstein after the Ministry of Culture demanded removal of references to his Jewish identity and support for a Jewish homeland, diplomats said yesterday. It is likely to send the exhibition to Taiwan instead, they added.
The exhibition of pictures, documents and text belonging to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, to which Einstein left his estate, has been on show in New Zealand and Australia and was to arrive in China in the next two weeks for display in major cities for up to three months.
The ministry demanded deletion of 10 per cent of the text which said that Einstein was Jewish, supported the creation of Israel and was invited to be its first president, an invitation he declined, the diplomats said.
The Israeli side refused, saying they could not change history. The exhibition mainly consists of his notebooks, letters and pictures.
A spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Beijing said: 'We are disappointed and offended by the Ministry of Culture's decision to censor or change parts of our exhibition of Einstein.
'We find that the fact that he was a Jew, pro-Zionist and was invited to be the first president of Israel are very important parts of his life. We cannot compromise on that and were forced to cancel,' he said. 'We regret the most that an exhibition of Einstein, who is admired by the Chinese public and leaders, will not be shown in China.'
