Tag Archives: activist art

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Article 19 – Freedom of Movement and Residence

Article 19 - Freedom of Movement and Residence

 

Article 19 - Freedom of Movement and Residence

Article 19 - Freedom of Movement and Residence (Click for larger image)

Val Kerry, 8th June 2011

As someone who is completely detached from Palestine and Israel via historical, family or geographical background I am still baffled by the bully tactics by some Jewish Israeli citizens who appear to always refer everyone back to the equally disgusting treatment of their own proud and notably cultural people during the unforgivable crimes of the Holocaust. Why then do they proceed to treat another culturally rich and proud people who are as human as they who also deserve respect and dignity in such an appalling way? I would have thought they would have been a beacon of justice and fairness to the rest of us and lead the way in human rights. I originally produced this graphic illustration as part of a series of work to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the declaration of human rights by using layers of past and present. The past is represented by a photograph of Auschwitz which has been overlayed onto the separation wall at Abu Dis in the hope that someone will see it in order to raise serious questions about what Israel are doing to Palestine. By creating huge guarded walls they are in effect creating a larger Auschwitz with ghetto style sanctions on limitations to hospitals and freedom of movement. We see in the West what is happening and it is not acceptable on any level.

This photo can be also viewed on Flickr here

ARTICLE 13 – Universal Declaration of Human Rights 60th Anniversary

Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 13:
[1] Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State.
[2] Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

These images of the Abu Dis Wall and the barbed wire at Auschwitz have been over layed to illustrate ‘Old Walls, New Walls, keeping out, keeping in’

Kashfi Halford kindly allowed me the right to use his image of ‘The Wall at Abu Dis; East Jerusalem.

The original photograph can be viewed on his wonderful flickr photostream at Kashklick. Also please visit his amazing website at www.kashfihalford.com

The 2nd overlayered image has been taken from:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Auschwitz-2.jpg

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Remembering Art Gish

Art Gish in Hebron in 2003 standing in front of an Israeli tank to try to stop it destroying a market in the Old City

ISM, 1 August 2010

American peace activist Art Gish died on Wednesday in a tractor accident on his organic farm in Athens, Ohio, at the age of 70.

Gish and his wife Peggy – currently in Iraq – dedicated much of their lives to promoting peace in the Middle East through nonviolent action.

As a member of the Christian Peacemakers Team (CPT) based in Al Khalil (Hebron) in the West Bank, Gish lived up to the CPT’s slogan “Getting in the way” when he faced up to an Israeli tank in 2003 to try to prevent it from destroying a market in Hebron’s Old City.

Art Gish in Hebron in 2003 standing in front of an Israeli tank to try to stop it destroying a market in the Old City

Art Gish in Hebron in 2003 standing in front of an Israeli tank to try to stop it destroying a market in the Old City

Gish also published two books about his work in the Middle East, including Hebron Journal: Stories of Nonviolent Peacemaking.

Art Gish (1939 - 2010) with his wife Peggy

Art Gish (1939 - 2010) with his wife Peggy

He wrote about this specific incident, saying:

“The soldiers tried their best to ignore me, but I am sure they heard me. I ignored their commands for me to leave. One soldier spit at me, so I walked right up to him and invited him to spit on me. He declined the offer.

Three soldiers aimed their guns at and moved toward a group of Palestinian bystanders. It looked to me like they were going to shoot. I quickly jumped in front of the soldiers, raised my hands in the air and shouted, “Shoot me, shoot me, go ahead and shoot me.” The soldiers immediately left.

A tank came roaring toward me, its big gun barrel aimed at me. I raised my hands in the air in prayer, and shouted, “Shoot, shoot, Baruch hashem adonai.” The tank stopped within inches of me.”

He added: “The Israeli military had put all of Hebron under total curfew today, saying they were looking for terrorists. Now I wonder if there really were terrorists hidden among the apples and oranges. Or, are the Israeli soldiers committing acts of terrorism against the civilian population of Hebron?”

Further tributes:

http://kittywampus.wordpress.com/2010/07/31/art-gish-is-dead-at-70-a-terrible-loss-for-peace-and-justice/

http://blog.sojo.net/2010/07/29/world-renowned-peacemaker-art-gish-dies/