Rebecca Harrison’s Pilgrimage To Bethlehem’s West Banksy
“BETHLEHEM residents vandalise Banksy graffiti,” says the Guardian.
Or to put it another way, Bethlehem residents paint over graffiti depicting them as dumb animals.
Writes the paper’s Rebecca Harrison “in Bethlehem”: “Bethlehem residents have painted over a satirical mural by the graffiti artist Banksy that was meant to highlight their plight.
The elusive British artist had painted six images around the town to help drum up tourism before Christmas and to illustrate the hardships faced by Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.”
Good old, Banksy. Without him what hope Bethlehem of getting any tourists to rock up for Christmas. Many are the nun, shiny eyed evangelist and coachload of tourists who have arrived at the site and wondered that it could only benefit from a bit of graffiti.
The now erased picture was of an Israeli solder checking a donkey’s papers. Bethlehem is a site protected by the Israelis keen to stop Islamists from blowing it to smithereens. Banksy finds this worthy of his satire.
So too does Harrison: “But the irony behind the depiction of an Israeli soldier checking a donkey’s identity papers was lost on some residents, who found it offensive.”
“We’re humans here, not donkeys,” says local Nasri Canavati. “This is insulting. I’m glad it was painted over.”
Says Harrison: “To be called a donkey in Palestinian society is similar to being called an idiot.”
Or a hack…
December 21st, 2007 at 12:43 pm
Patronising and demonising are the two things crap arty-intellectuals are great at. Banksy did both in one picture.
The thing I really don’t understand is why people go to conflict zones to be outraged and indignant and to add to the pressure and violence already there - when the solution to conflicts is to build greater trust between opposing factions, to make their goals workable for both sides and to try and bring their competing narratives into something less murderous.
Israel works on the premise that the entire Arab world (that’s a couple of hundred million to Israel’s 5 and a half million) want to drive them into the sea - and having been murdered and persecuted so relentlessly in Europe it’s no wonder that Zionism seems to be such a last resort. Of course that’s not the fault of the Palestinians, but attacking Israel wont help unless you think a genocide is the best option.
December 21st, 2007 at 12:54 pm
I agree!
Art is ok, but what Banksy may think is cutting edge and witty obviously doesn’t fly in another culture. I get his point about the donkey and Israeli paranoia but I’m a white westerner not a Palastinian arab who’s at the receiving end said paranoia.
So, if one of his ‘artworks’ get replaced by a mural of a black cat at midnight in a power cut then tough luck Banksy, they’re just expressing themselves.
December 21st, 2007 at 1:12 pm
The danger occurs when an artist says something an starts believing others are paying attention to his message.
December 21st, 2007 at 5:48 pm
What’s that Anorak?
I wasn’t paying attention……..:)
December 21st, 2007 at 5:49 pm
Horror…………. me smiley face didn’t work!!!!!
December 21st, 2007 at 7:49 pm
It’s an enigmatic smile…
March 4th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Just read on e-bay that that Donkey vanished !!! Although for half a million smackers , i can stuff it in me garden !!
So much for protest , just as greedy as the rest of em ‘