After a series of vociferous protests against Israel’s inclusion in the 61st Venice Biennale contemporary art exhibition, including the jury’s resignation, artist Belu-Simion Fainaru finally greeted the public on Sunday at his country’s installation.

“Israel’s pavilion is full of visitors,” Fainaru told The Times of Israel. “People really seem to like it; they feel connected to it.”

Inside the Israeli pavilion, Fainaru created an installation of water dripping from irrigation tubes — using those invented by Rafi Mehudar of water tech company Netafim for arid desert farming — into a pool.

The cycles run for 42 seconds, said Fainaru, representing the divine creative powers of Jewish mysticism.

Other aspects of the Israeli installation, titled “Rose of Nothingness,” include locks engraved with the commandment “Love thy neighbor as thyself” or “everything is going to be all right.”

He also placed mezuzahs — sacred Jewish parchment scrolls featuring handwritten Hebrew verses from the Torah that are affixed to the doorposts of Jewish homes as a reminder of God’s presence — on the doorways of the pavilion, within the 500-year-old Arsenale complex.

“Some of the viewers come in and kiss the mezuzah,” said Fainaru, referring to an ancient Jewish custom. “They don’t expect to see a mezuzah.”

He said that other participating artists have come over to the pavilion to greet him and tell him they’re Jewish.

“They’re all talking about their identity. It’s not something I’ve ever experienced before, but now it’s important for people to acknowledge that,” said Fainaru.

Last week, some 2,000 pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protesters staged a march that tried at one point to get to........

© The Times of Israel