Two activists who damaged a Picasso painting at Britain's National Gallery were convicted of criminal damage but will not be facing penal punishment. The duo, Jai Halai who works for the NHS and Malachai Rosenfeld a student of politics, entered the gallery with red paint before plastering a poster of a Gazan woman and child over the painting and then pouring red paint on the floor.
While these have in recent years been the tactics of climate activists, these two twenty-somethings were doing it for the pro-Palestinian cause and are with the group Youth Demand. The Daily Mail reports that they were tried and convicted in July but that despite the conviction, they are being sentenced to community service.
On their website, Youth Demand states "The government is engaging in absolute evil. They are enabling genocide in Palestine by sending money and arms to Israel. They are contributing to the murder of billions to keep the fossil fuel profits flowing.
"Young people are stepping up to resist this nightmare. We are demanding that the government stop all trade with Israel. Until this demand is met, we will be in nonviolent resistance against this rigged political system and the people with blood on their hands."
Judge David Tomlinson spoke to the defendants during sentencing, saying "You both joined a protest group called Youth Demand. You staged an incident in front of a work of art called 'Motherhood.' For what turned out to be a very brief moment you fixed to the Picasso a modern image of a distressed mother and child.
"You were attempting to raise awareness of the plight of innocent people and particularly mothers and young people in Gaza. It is agreed that you did not attempt to cause damage to the work of art or to the transparent covering and frame," he said. He also said of the pair "I have regard to your respective ages, you both being in your early twenties at the time of this offense."
Video that went viral of the incident shows the pair struggling with security guards who tried to pull them off the Picasso and pouring paint over the floor while shouting "Free Palestine." They also shouted "the UK is complicit in genocide [in Palestine]. Women are giving birth without any medical attention."
Youth Demand proudly publicized the crime at the time and quoted their activists who carried out the vandalism.
“I’m taking action with Youth Demand because at this point it’s been over one year of seeing my colleagues in the healthcare field decimated," said Halai, 23. "Decimated by bombs, by bullets and by having to operate, with no medical equipment, on starved children.
“We need a two way arms embargo on Israel now; 87% of the British public want this and never before have they been more disillusioned with our Government and political class who do not represent us. We need a revolution in our democracy.
“Direct action is what gave us our rights and is the only way to move us towards proper justice. Civil resistance is our duty as young people: to defend those without a voice today and to defend our futures. It’s time to take to the streets; bring on the revolution!”
His compatriot Rosenfeld, 21 at the time, said "I’m taking action because as a jew, I feel like it’s my duty to call out the genocide being committed in Gaza. I want the world to know this isn’t in the jewish name and I want to see a free Palestine. When Keir Starmer says Britain stands with Israel he’s wrong. We know very well that this is a genocide, not “self defense” and we as the people of Britain say enough is enough."
While these have in recent years been the tactics of climate activists, these two twenty-somethings were doing it for the pro-Palestinian cause and are with the group Youth Demand. The Daily Mail reports that they were tried and convicted in July but that despite the conviction, they are being sentenced to community service.
On their website, Youth Demand states "The government is engaging in absolute evil. They are enabling genocide in Palestine by sending money and arms to Israel. They are contributing to the murder of billions to keep the fossil fuel profits flowing.
"Young people are stepping up to resist this nightmare. We are demanding that the government stop all trade with Israel. Until this demand is met, we will be in nonviolent resistance against this rigged political system and the people with blood on their hands."
Judge David Tomlinson spoke to the defendants during sentencing, saying "You both joined a protest group called Youth Demand. You staged an incident in front of a work of art called 'Motherhood.' For what turned out to be a very brief moment you fixed to the Picasso a modern image of a distressed mother and child.
"You were attempting to raise awareness of the plight of innocent people and particularly mothers and young people in Gaza. It is agreed that you did not attempt to cause damage to the work of art or to the transparent covering and frame," he said. He also said of the pair "I have regard to your respective ages, you both being in your early twenties at the time of this offense."
Video that went viral of the incident shows the pair struggling with security guards who tried to pull them off the Picasso and pouring paint over the floor while shouting "Free Palestine." They also shouted "the UK is complicit in genocide [in Palestine]. Women are giving birth without any medical attention."
Youth Demand proudly publicized the crime at the time and quoted their activists who carried out the vandalism.
“I’m taking action with Youth Demand because at this point it’s been over one year of seeing my colleagues in the healthcare field decimated," said Halai, 23. "Decimated by bombs, by bullets and by having to operate, with no medical equipment, on starved children.
“We need a two way arms embargo on Israel now; 87% of the British public want this and never before have they been more disillusioned with our Government and political class who do not represent us. We need a revolution in our democracy.
“Direct action is what gave us our rights and is the only way to move us towards proper justice. Civil resistance is our duty as young people: to defend those without a voice today and to defend our futures. It’s time to take to the streets; bring on the revolution!”
His compatriot Rosenfeld, 21 at the time, said "I’m taking action because as a jew, I feel like it’s my duty to call out the genocide being committed in Gaza. I want the world to know this isn’t in the jewish name and I want to see a free Palestine. When Keir Starmer says Britain stands with Israel he’s wrong. We know very well that this is a genocide, not “self defense” and we as the people of Britain say enough is enough."
