Pro-Palestine organization takes sculptures of Israeli president
Pro-Palestinian activists have taken artwork representing Israel’s first president. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Sculptures of Chaim Weizmann, Israel's first president, were taken from the University of Manchester by a pro-Palestinian group that also engaged in coordinated vandalism against pro-Israeli organizations in Britain, coinciding with the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration.
The protest group, Action Palestine, stated that their actions on Friday served as a symbolic rejection of the 1917 letter from UK Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour, which supported the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine—a region that at the time was part of the Ottoman Empire, encompassing what is now Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.
At the University of Manchester, the group stole two busts of Weizmann, who had taught there before becoming Israel's first president. In footage shared on X, two masked individuals were shown smashing the glass encasement with hammers and concealing the sculptures in black bags.
The group declared on X: “Breaking: Palestine Action abduct sculptures of Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann. Weizmann secured the Balfour Declaration, a British pledge written 107 years ago, which began the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by signing the land away.”
Action Palestine labeled Weizmann as "the architect of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians," claiming that he had "secured" the Balfour Declaration.
On the same day, the activists vandalized the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing, spraying red paint to protest its collaboration with defense firms associated with Israel.
In London, the vandalism continued as members of Action Palestine threw red paint on the offices of the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre and the Jewish National Fund. The Metropolitan Police have initiated investigations into these incidents as suspected hate crimes.
Chief Inspector Paul Ridley stated, “We have been clear that we have a zero tolerance for hate crime.”
BICOM denounced the vandalism, describing it as “cowardly, violent acts of domestic terrorism” that “do nothing to support the situation in the Middle East; and only threaten and endanger British citizens.”
Phil Rosenberg, head of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, noted that such actions “make many Jews feel targeted and unsafe in this country.”
In their defense, Action Palestine affirmed on social media, “Israel lobby groups and the mainstream media get shocked by red paint, yet they are dripping in the blood of Palestinians.”
Since the onset of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, numerous countries have experienced protests from both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli factions. Solidarity demonstrations for Palestinians have featured sit-ins and makeshift encampments at various college campuses and have sometimes resulted in clashes with law enforcement.
Ramin Sohrabi contributed to this report for TROIB News
The protest group, Action Palestine, stated that their actions on Friday served as a symbolic rejection of the 1917 letter from UK Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour, which supported the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine—a region that at the time was part of the Ottoman Empire, encompassing what is now Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.
At the University of Manchester, the group stole two busts of Weizmann, who had taught there before becoming Israel's first president. In footage shared on X, two masked individuals were shown smashing the glass encasement with hammers and concealing the sculptures in black bags.
The group declared on X: “Breaking: Palestine Action abduct sculptures of Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann. Weizmann secured the Balfour Declaration, a British pledge written 107 years ago, which began the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by signing the land away.”
Action Palestine labeled Weizmann as "the architect of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians," claiming that he had "secured" the Balfour Declaration.
On the same day, the activists vandalized the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing, spraying red paint to protest its collaboration with defense firms associated with Israel.
In London, the vandalism continued as members of Action Palestine threw red paint on the offices of the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre and the Jewish National Fund. The Metropolitan Police have initiated investigations into these incidents as suspected hate crimes.
Chief Inspector Paul Ridley stated, “We have been clear that we have a zero tolerance for hate crime.”
BICOM denounced the vandalism, describing it as “cowardly, violent acts of domestic terrorism” that “do nothing to support the situation in the Middle East; and only threaten and endanger British citizens.”
Phil Rosenberg, head of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, noted that such actions “make many Jews feel targeted and unsafe in this country.”
In their defense, Action Palestine affirmed on social media, “Israel lobby groups and the mainstream media get shocked by red paint, yet they are dripping in the blood of Palestinians.”
Since the onset of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, numerous countries have experienced protests from both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli factions. Solidarity demonstrations for Palestinians have featured sit-ins and makeshift encampments at various college campuses and have sometimes resulted in clashes with law enforcement.
Ramin Sohrabi contributed to this report for TROIB News
