Churchill statue in central London vandalized with pro-Palestinian graffiti

LondonSacrilege in England. The iconic statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square, opposite the Palace of Westminster in central London, has been vandalized again. The Metropolitan Police have arrested a 38-year-old man on suspicion of criminal damage with racial aggravating circumstances, after he painted pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist graffiti on the bronze monument that stands in the heart of Westminster's political center.

The incident occurred this Friday shortly after 4:00 a.m. The swift response of patrols, who arrived at the scene in less than two minutes, allowed for the arrest of the perpetrator in the act. Images that have gone viral on social media show a bearded man, dressed in a red frog costume, spraying phrases such as [insert phrases here] with red paint. "Zionist criminal war" [Zionist war criminal], "Free Palestine"[Free Palestine],"Stop the genocide"[Stop the genocide] and the slogan"Globalize the Intifada" [Globalize the intifada].

The Dutch group Free the Filton 24 has claimed authorship. The organization defines itself as a collective of friends and family of the Palestine Action activists, previously arrested for actions against the Israeli defense company Elbit. A member of the group, identified as Olax Outis, stated that the objective was to denounce the British government's complicity in human rights violations and to portray Churchill as a symbol of "political corruption and colonialism."

Between the condemnation and the election campaign

The attack on one of the untouchable icons, not so much of the United Kingdom as of England, has generated a wave of outrage across the British political spectrum. A Downing Street spokesperson described the act as "abominable.""Recalling that Churchill is a pivotal figure in national history, the Secretary of State for the Army, former military officer Al Carns, criticized the perpetrator's "utter stupidity," arguing: "The very reason he has the right to protest is because this great man stood up to tyranny and Nazism." Reform Party leader Nigel Farage has also used the incident to denounce what he sees as a rise in "sectarianism" and left-wing extremism in the country. Farage has directly linked the vandalism to the advance of radical policies and presented his party as the only solution to protect British values ​​against what he calls "the threat of identity politics."

Beyond self-serving assessments that obscure the reasons behind the action, the Churchill statue, unveiled in 1973 by his widow, Lady Churchill, is no stranger to protests. In recent years, it has become a lightning rod in the culture wars. In 2020, due to the Black Lives Matter movement and in the wake of the protests for the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, The statue was painted with the message "He was a racist," forcing the government to temporarily protect it with a wooden crate. Separately, members of Extinction Rebellion and trans rights activists have also been sanctioned for actions against the monument in the past. Police noted that the slogan "Globalise the intifada" has been under special surveillance since last December, as authorities believe it could incite hatred and violence in the wake of recent events. terrorist attacks in Sydney and Manchester. With new laws passed last year that specifically criminalize climbing or damaging national monuments, the accused could face severe prison sentences and substantial fines.

This afternoon, cleaning crews were working to remove the red paint from the bronze and the graphite from the pedestal. In any case, the debate over Whether Churchill is a hero of freedom or an exponent of British imperialism It continues to divide public opinion in the islands. The Old Lion is not very popular in England, but much less so in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.