Struggling with infertility can be absolutely grueling–and will often lead people to search out any solution available. Now there’s a statue in Ramat Gan, Israel that some claim helps women get pregnant. The statue, named “Birth,” is by the late artist Menashe Kadishman, and some visitors believe it has the power to increase fertility.
However, the Israeli municipality near Tel Aviv is now telling young religious women to refrain from touching it. Ramat Gan Deputy Mayor Adva Pollak recently made a statement in hopes of disputing these rumors (not surprisingly). Pollak was quoted as saying:
“We inform the public that this statue has no special powers, and is merely one of many works of art on display in the park. It would be wrong to attribute such powers to the statue. We welcome visitors who wish to enjoy the art, but I call on them to refrain from lying on it.”
The statue, which slightly resembles the Venus of Willendorf, was created by Kadishman, a secular Jew who is known for featuring religious symbols in his work. Perhaps it is this resemblance to the early Venus sculpture that has been visited by religious women who believe touching it will help them conceive, according to Yediot, as a local resident from Ramat Gan told the magazine that he first noticed the visitations to Kadishman’s “Birth” this summer:
“They huddle around the statue and then lie on it one after another.”
The Ramat Gan statue is one of 14 Kadishman works on loan from the relatives of the artist, who died last year at the age of 83.
Obviously I can’t speak to the magical powers of the sculpture, but I’m sure it’s worth making the trip to see such a great piece of art anyway–it can’t hurt, can it?
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