The Israel-Hamas war is tearing American cultural institutions apart

Artists are pulling their work from the National Gallery of Art, which receives funding from Congress, in protest of the US providing military aid to Israel. Sponsors withdrew from the National Book Awards ceremony last month after learning that authors were planning to call for a ceasefire. Literary events are being postponed or canceled, museums are becoming sites of protest, and open letters and boycotts of organizations are proliferating.

The war between Israel and Hamas is roiling the arts and literary worlds. The death toll in Gaza, which has surpassed 15,500 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, has compelled thousands of artists and writers to speak out...