The conflict between Israel and Palestine has a long and complex history, but the surprise incursion by Palestinian militant groups on October 7, 2023, marked a significant escalation, causing widespread destruction and controversy. People around the world have taken sides. Yet, the most important voices remain those of the affected people. Here is how some of those voices have been expressed through art.
Rana Samara is a Palestinian artist from Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. According to NPR, she is “part of a group of Palestinian artists that joined with the Zawyeh Gallery in Ramallah to create work to help raise money for humanitarian aid in Gaza.” Most interesting is how she incorporates common, colorful imagery into works depicting the bleak events of the war. In one piece, she focuses on depicting scenes of fleeing children. Describing her rationale, she says, “My idea was a piggy bank and inside a tank.” At first look, it’s an attractive, colorful, bright picture, “but when you get close to it, it’s the bleak image. It’s the tank.”
Michal Worke is a Jewish Israeli artist of Ethiopian descent. Since the conflict’s escalation on October 7, her latest works have been colored with muted blues and grays. Referring to the attacks, she has described these as “the shock of the kidnappings, and the murders and disasters.” As an Israeli of Ethiopian descent, her works have largely focused on the effects of the war on the Ethiopian community in Israel. “Many Ethiopian soldiers have died,” she said to NPR. “Ninety percent of Ethiopians [in Israel] go to combat units. It’s the highest percentage of any community. So many have died.” In one of her works, she emphasizes the Ethiopian contribution to the Israeli Defense Force, shown below.
Art has always been a core, raw medium of expression. In events of such real and horrifying trauma, art expresses what words can’t. We, as students, also know how often it is that there are things that we simply cannot easily express with language.
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