About This Lesson
Lesson Plan: Palestine Art as Resistance/An Inquiry Approach to Graffiti on the Apartheid Wall/Separation Barrier
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.1, 8.1, 9-10.1: Cite specific textual and visual evidence to support analysis of what the art says explicitly about social or political issues.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
- Objective: Students write a short essay analyzing graffiti on the West Bank wall.
- Essential Question: How can art become a tool for challenging those in power?
- Essay prompt: How do graffiti artists use symbols and imagery to protest the wall? Is this protest justified?
Photos of the Murals
George Floyd & Ahed Tamimi
Make Hummus Not Walls
Man in Blindfold (The Daily Bruin)
Procedure:
- Count off groups of 1’s, 2’s, 3’s, 4’s and conduct a gallery walk, explaining that the photos were taken of what Palestinians call Israel’s “apartheid wall” and what Israel describes as the “separation barrier” between Israel and its occupied territories.
- Ask each group to find evidence in the murals of themes such as:injustice; youth in rebellion; community vs. division; freedom vs. oppression?
- Students share what they saw in the photos and found most interesting.
- Read and discuss the background material below on each mural.
- Read and discuss multiple perspectives below on the apartheid wall/separation barrier.
- Assign the essay to be written individually or as a cooperative group. (rubric: clear thesis, strong supporting evidence, thoughtful analysis of evidence, conclusion that restates the main idea and supporting points and evaluates whether the resistance art is justified.)
Background on the Murals
GEORGE FLOYD & AHED TAMIMI mural on the wall near Bethlehem; created by the Palestinian artist Taqi Spateen , who used the wall as a canvas to protest police brutality and draw parallels between Floyd's killing and Palestinian experiences with state violence.
The woman with the large face in the George Floyd mural on the wall is Ahed Tamimi, a prominent Palestinian youth activist, painted by artist Taqi Spateen alongside Floyd to highlight global struggles against injustice and police brutality, symbolizing shared causes of resistance. Best known for appearances in photos and videos in which she confronts Israeli soldiers, she has been hailed by pro-Palestinian activists as a symbol of Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation. (Wikipedia)
MAKE HUMMUS NOT WALLS created by Issa" (Palestinian Artist).
The phrase "Make Hummus Not Walls" is a popular slogan and theme in Palestinian resistance art; Hummus, a staple of Middle Eastern cuisine, represents shared culture and community, making "Make Hummus Not Walls" a call to build bridges, share, and connect people rather than divide them. Issa painted “Welcome to the shopping mall” over the “Make Hummus Not Walls” message after British street artist Banksy opened “The Walled off Hotel.” Banksy encouraged visitors to buy spray paint at the nearby “Wall Mart” to paint slogans, murals and their names over the mural. Issa protested “occupation tourism” in Bethlehem, where critics charge tourists are “exoticising Palestinian trauma.”
BLINDFOLDED MAN & ISRAELI SOLDIERS:
A mural of a blindfolded Palestinian being arrested by two Israeli soldiers carries the message: "We can't live, so we are waiting for death." To the right, a mural of a young man with a slingshot aimed at the burned out tower and the message: 'One day the sun will shine on a free Palestine.' (out of frame). (Apartheid Art: The Stories Behind Striking Palestinian Graffiti. Bahira Amin. Cairoscene.com. 10/23/23)
ARMORED DOVE
The famous "Armoured Dove" or "Dove of Peace" on the Israeli West Bank barrier (often called the apartheid wall) was painted by the anonymous street artist Banksy during a visit in 2005, depicting a peace dove in a bulletproof vest with a target, symbolizing the fragile and threatened nature of peace.
Articles with Multiple Perspectives
“Saving Lives-Israel's Security Fence” (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 11/26/03)
https://www.gov.il/en/pages/saving-lives-israel-s-security-fence
Stop the Wall (Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign)
https://stopthewall.org/the-wall/
