Joint Mural Project

October 19 2021

A dual mural project spearheaded by the Palestinian Youth Movement’s Reisistance Arts committee, I Witness Silwan, Art Forces, and Madaa-Silwan Creative Center, was recently painted in both the Mission District of San Francisco Califonia and the Silwan neighborhood Palestine. These groups came together to bridge the geographical distance between Palestinians as part of the Nakba mobilizations around the world. In this vein, two murals were created –one in Palestine and one in the diaspora, that speak to each other and our respective situations. 

The mural in San Francisco, designed by Chris Gazaleh and Diyala S. and assisted by David Solnit, was painted on the 73th anniversary of Nakba as one part of the 10,000 person rally and march planned by organizations under the Palestine Action Network banner. The SF Mission district, also part of the village site of Yelamu, Ramaytush Ohlone territory, was chosen as the mural site to also speak to the intense gentrification, displacement and dispossession of its residents. The mural in Batn al-Hawa, Silwan, a copy of the mural in San Francisco, was painted at a peak of the Unity Intifada on a home that is currently at risk of demolition at the hands of the Zionist apartheid state of Israel. This was part of a larger international and local community action called “I Witness Silwan”, bottom lined by Art Forces &  Madaa over the past 2 years, where multiple murals of eyes have been installed on the sides of structures that can be seen across neighborhoods that make up Silwan.

The two murals illustrate not only our unity as Palestinians but also highlighted the different plights we are currently facing as those in diaspora and those living under Israeli colonial violence, apartheid and occupation.  The mural in San Francisco said “We Will Return” “سنعود”, demanding the right of return for all displaced peoples. The mural in Silwan said “We Will Remain” “لن نرحل”, declaring their commitment to their land as they resist imminent expulsion. 

The coordinated painting of these murals unified our communities in our respective and collective struggles and also reaffirmed our resistance and connectedness as Palestinians. Through the imagery, we paid respects to our martyrs –through the red poppy, uplifted Palestinian resistance with images of our kuffiyeh wearing resistance fighters, and reaffirmed that our homeland is and will always be Palestine, with Jeruselem painted in the background. 

The importance of coordinating a joint mural, one in Palestine and one in diaspora, is in maintaining our connections to each other, despite the Zionist project’s attempts to fragment us as a society and as a people. Even though we are dealing with different realities, as the murals illustrate, our resistance is united. We remain one people and must continue to speak to and work with one another; support and uplift each other in our fight for liberation  

Currently, Palestinians across Jerusalem are facing forced displacement. Specifically, over 100 families in Silwan are receiving house demolition orders to make way for an Israeli archeological theme park. They are resisting these demands. These demolitions have already begun with Nidal Al-Rajabi’s shop as the first site. We call on our community to continue uplifting the events happening all over Jerusalem, Palestine and to resist all forms of occupation, displacement and imperialism, wherever it prevails. May we continue to resist in unity.