A group of activists from Coalition of Women for Peace and Anarchists Against the Wall holds its first exhibition of works donated by Israeli and Palestinian artists aiming to fund legal defense.
River by Aya Zamir
In Palestine activist are frequently detained by Israeli police and military. Although many of the lawyers representing them charge reduced fees, as Gaby Lasky and her team, the anti-occupation activists have amassed legal bills of more than 1m shekels ($280,000).
Around 100 artists have taken the chance to support this cause, including some that are well known internationally, such as Sigalit Landau, David Reeb and David Tartakover. They have donated more than 150 works that. Although the artists were free to decide which works they wanted to donate, many of the pieces are explicitly political. So far $150,000 worth of art work has been donated to the cause and more works are coming in. Thanks to this commitment, Coalition of Women for Peace and Anarchists against the Wall are able to organize Intervals, an art sale exhibition, taking place in Tel Aviv from 29 to 31 August, that will try to cover the legal expenses of Israeli and Palestinian activists arrested for their protests against the Wall, settlements and other occupation ways.
Art works can be bought during the exhibition or online.
“Over the past decade or so the popular, unarmed and joint struggle of Palestinians, Israelis and internationals has become a symbol of resistance to the occupation. In dozens of cities, towns and mainly agricultural villages, popular committees have been organized in the spirit of the First Intifada, uniting different factions in order to combat the construction of the separation wall or the expansion of settlements on Palestinian lands. Facing constant repression on the side of the army, the committees’ organized demonstrations have used colorful and creative protest mixed with direct action to try and stop land grabs and win independence. In some cases they have led to a significant change in the route of the barrier, winning back thousands of acres for farmers. No less importantly, according to organizers, the unarmed struggle — side by side with Israeli solidarity activists — has in itself been successful in breaking walls of separation between people and won international support for the Palestinian struggle.”
Haggai Matar // +972
Return Serve by Hamde Abu Rahma
