London hospital forced to take down artwork created by Palestinian schoolchildren

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - A display of artwork designed by Palestinian schoolchildren from Gaza was taken down at London’s Chelsea and Westminster Hospital after complaints by a British pro-Israel campaign group on behalf of Jewish patients.

The hospital was forced to remove the artwork after a complaint by a small number of Jewish patients "who said they felt vulnerable and victimized by this display," according to a statement by UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI).

The display of decorated plates, titled “Crossing Borders – a festival of Plates,” was a peaceful and artistic expression of Palestinian culture and aspirations for independence.

But the authenticity of the artwork is being questioned by the group, as it was created by children at two UNRWA-run schools in Gaza and then transferred onto plates by children at Chelsea Community Hospital School.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a relief and human development agency providing education, healthcare, social services and emergency aid to over 4.7 million Palestinian refugees living in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria as well as in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The caption for one of the plates said: "The olive branch is the symbol of peace and is used to express the wish for an independent Palestinian state."

One Twitter account shared images of the display at the hospital and said: "If you feel vulnerable and victimized having to look at a display of artwork by children from Gaza, imagine how those children feel when an Israeli soldier is pointing a gun at them.”

Home to nearly 2.3 million people, the Gaza Strip has been reeling under an Israeli blockade since 2007, badly affecting livelihoods in the seaside territory.

Last Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories are “illegal” under international law, warning they “must stop."

“Across the occupied West Bank and Gaza, hopelessness is spreading, feeding anger and despair. Each new settlement is another roadblock on the path to peace,” Guterres said at the opening of the 2023 session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.