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Solidarity through the Spray Can - The Internationalization of Graffiti on the Israeli Separation Barrier
Abstract
Throughout the first Palestinian intifada, graffiti served as both a form of communication and resistance for youth struggling against the Israeli occupation. Peteet's studies of this proverbial 'writing on the wall' - often located on the exterior courtyards and walls of private residences - demonstrate how graffiti enabled Palestinians to anonymously, yet publicly, communicate despite Israel's censorship and provide a visible and, at times, visceral challenge to Israeli surveillance and control. Today, graffiti continues to be used as a means of communication and resistance against the ongoing occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. However, unlike the first intifada, there is noticeable international influence and participation in the graffiti on the 8m high concrete sections of the Israeli Separation Barrier that seals off major Palestinian population centers, such as Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Qalqilia. British street artist Banksy, former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters, the Netherlands-based 'Send a Message' project as well as countless individual international activists have placed graffiti on the wall in order to express solidarity with Palestinians or to resist the continued occupation. This paper, based on field work in the West Bank conducted between July and September 2009, will compare the graffiti of the first intifada to the current graffiti on the Israeli Separation Wall and consider how increased internationalization has impacted its conceptualization as a form of Palestinian nonviolent resistance. The paper will also consider how the internationalization of graffiti in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict informs the ongoing anthropological discourse and theories pertaining to international solidarity and social movements.
Discipline
Anthropology
Geographic Area
Israel
West Bank
Sub Area
None