United Nations Day, October 24, 2023
Dear Mr Guterres,
Israel became a welcoming haven for Jews seeking safety and freedom from centuries of atrocious persecution throughout Europe through a mix of international diplomatic wrangling and occasional violent actions by Zionist paramilitary organisations (seen as freedom fighters by some, terrorists by others). Over time, for reasons including some Palestinian acts of violence, the perennially oppressed became the oppressor; the child that was beaten grew strong and started hitting. As Amos Oz poignantly and presciently said over half a century ago, “occupation is corrupting. It corrupts the occupier, and in a different way, it corrupts the occupied.”
Two people who have legitimate existential equal rights to freedom and self-determination have faced one too many cycles of violence breaching human rights and international humanitarian law. Enough with tribalism, radicalism, and leadership dictated by extremist voices, on both sides. The October 7th Hamas-led massacre and abduction of civilians was abhorrent. The siege of Gaza, the forced displacement of over a million people, half of whom are children, and the countless civilian deaths whether through bombs in Gaza or settlers’ attacks in the West Bank are condemnable. All innocent civilian lives matter!
Palestinian resistance has long been seen by some as a cancer to be eradicated, but this misdiagnosis avoids treating the core issue and in so doing ultimately weakens and endangers the patient’s long-term wellbeing. Violence feeds extremism. Revenge at any cost, is ultimately at the cost of ones Humanity. We need a paradigm shift: the wisdom of a caring gardener to rescue what I see as an ailing two-trunk olive tree that’s been attacked by various parasites, its root system is choking itself and its branches are cutting into each other. It urgently needs pruning and soil rebalancing for the branches to grow harmoniously, rising upwards for all reach sunlight.
About the artwork: I created “Interwoven” by using photographs of the Israeli and Palestinian flags yet stripping them of their colours to bring them closer together, visually. I tore up each flag into strips and wove them together around a strong multi-trunk olive tree symbolising wisdom and deep roots to the soil. It stands in contrast to the frailty of the loose and unstable lattice-like construct; the slightest touch moves around multiple strips and unbalances the whole composition in unpredictable ways.