Nadine Osman

A London hospital removed artwork created by Palestinian schoolchildren from Gaza last month, following lobbying from a pro-Israel NGO. According to UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital was “compelled to remove the artwork from one of its hallways following a complaint by them on behalf of several Jewish patients, who “felt vulnerable and victimised” by the artwork.

The artwork contained a display of decorated plates along with illustrations of their significance. Entitled “Crossing Borders: A Festival of Plates”, the display was shown by the entrance to the children’s outpatient department.

It was designed by children at two schools run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza and transferred onto the plates by children at the Chelsea Community Hospital School. The caption for one of the display plates was: “The olive branch is the symbol of peace and is used to express the wish for an independent Palestinian state.”

The group said, “The drawings from Gaza all appear to be professional artwork, in the same style, and carried out by the same person,” although they were said to have been designed by children at the Beit Lahia Girls’ School and the Jabalia Prep Boys’ School in Gaza. According to the complaint, some of the artwork depicted Palestine as encompassing the entire territory of Israel. Another description of a plate says, “The olive branch is the symbol of peace and is used to express the wish for an independent Palestinian state.”

“However, the picture on the plate accompanying the text shows the Dome of the Rock with a large Palestinian flag, implying that Jerusalem, and in particular the site of what had been the Jewish Temple, would be part of a Palestinian state,” UKLFI said.

The Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosque are in East Jerusalem, an area designated as Israeli-occupied territory in international law since 1967.

Husam Zomlot, the Palestine Ambassador to the UK, said Chelsea and Westminster Hospital had caved in to “racist bullying,” describing the removal of the artwork as “another step in a campaign by pressure groups like UKLFI that dehumanises the Palestinian people and seeks to divert attention from our legitimate rights and aspirations.”

Samah Sabawi, a Palestinian-Australian playwright and human rights advocate, said the incident was a demonstration of “how Zionism exploits Jewish fear and white guilt to erase Palestinians.” She added, “While #adelaidewritersweek is under pressure to cancel Palestinian speakers’ week, a London hospital was forced to remove art by children from Gaza. Why? Because it made Jewish patients feel vulnerable, offended, and harassed.”

David Sheen, an investigative journalist, based in Haifa, said victimization was used to conceal racist motives behind the removal of the artwork.

“That non-white non-Jews are even allowed to reproduce and produce art enrages me was thought to be an ineffective argument, so Zionist lawyers complain placid paintings by Palestinian schoolchildren make Zionists feel vulnerable, harassed, and victimised,” he tweeted,

A petition calling for the reinstatement of the children’s artwork has received almost 1,200 signatures, with many people expressing their disappointment at the hospital’s actions. James Grealy called the removal of the artwork “outrageous racist censorship” by the hospital management. “It is appalling that the hospital has given in to pressure and censored children’s freedom of expression,” wrote Anna Ferrie.

Nathalie Walmsley-Beveridge said, “If these children’s paintings are allowed to remain hidden, what does that say about our tolerance and our willingness to give children a voice?

They are victims of war. They are not terrorists, no matter how hard the UKLFI try to argue that they are terrorists in waiting.”

Since Hamas’s 2006 election, Israel has imposed a land, air, and sea blockade on Gaza. Thousands of Palestinian civilians, including children, have been killed because of the siege and subsequent Israeli military operations against Gaza, and many are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Muslim News has contacted the Chelsea and Westminster Hospitals for comment.

Photo: Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
(Credit: Liftec/Commons)