‘Promise of Heaven’: Palestinian Artists Mark the Balfour Declaration (PHOTOS)

An exhibition was launched in Gaza on November 3 to mark the 105th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, under the title “Palestine is the Promise of Heaven”.

Many artists took part in the exhibition, organized by the Public Authority for Youth and Culture in Gaza, in cooperation with the Palestinian Artists Association, the Malaysian Cultural Center, and the Strategic Initiative Center.

All paintings were aimed at describing the crime perpetrated through the Balfour Declaration, and the violations the Palestinian people are subjected to because of that ominous promise.

“This art is a message to the world. It is a sublime form of resistance, no less important than the gun we use to face the occupation,” Basil al-Aklouk, one of the participants in the exhibition said. 

One of al-Aklouk’s drawings, with the image of a spoon and the number 6, represented the Palestinian political prisoners who managed to tunnel their way to freedom from a fortified Israeli prison using spoons and other primitive means.  

“The prisoners’ message was that the Palestinian people deserve a decent life and freedom,” al-Aklouk said. “Thanks to their steadfastness and patience, they can achieve everything with their simple tools.”