Pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested after covering a Picasso painting with a photo of a mother and child from Gaza last week at the National Gallery in London, according to footage published on Instagram by Youth Demand on Wednesday.
The two protesters were members of the British pro-Palestinian organization Youth Demand, and were protesting UK arms sales to Israel.
In the video posted to their social media, the two are shown entering the art gallery, quickly covering the glass that protected the Picasso painting, and spilling red paint on the floor.
A spokesperson from the National Gallery responded, “Police attended and arrested the pair. The room reopened to the public at 2.30 pm. There has been no damage to any paintings.”
The pro-Palestinian group posted a message on social media along with a video of their attack. “We need a two-way arms embargo on Israel now; 87% of the British public want this,” they claimed.
One of the protesters, Monday-Malachi Rosenfeld, explained why he was protesting. “I am 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,” he claimed.
An article from the Independent noted that this incident is similar to another protest in 2022, in which two Just Stop Oil activists were arrested for pouring soup over a Vincent Van Gogh painting at the National Gallery to protest the use of fossil fuels.
UK suspension of arms
This demonstration came only days after tens of thousands of pro-Palestine protesters marched through London, as worldwide anti-Israel rallies took place ahead of the one-year anniversary of October 7.
In early September, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK had suspended 30 of the 350 arms contracts with Israel over concerns that the military equipment would be used for human rights violations in the Gaza war.
Netanyahu had responded by saying that “The United Kingdom’s decision to suspend arms sales earmarked for Gaza is shameful and will not “change Israel’s determination to defeat Hamas,”
