Street art in Israel

Graffiti written by Jews in this area can be traced back to the 8th century BCE in places such as Beit She'arim. While the most common graffiti were phrases like "Good luck in your resurrection" and “My beloved was here”, more outlandish graffiti was found too, such as "You will come to an evil end if you rob this grave” and "Lasius is a pervert."[6] And while ancient graffiti was most commonly found near tombs, it also was used in everyday ancient life for various purposes such as advertising a store or mark rows of theater seats to claim ownership. However, as professor Karen B. Stern notes, creating these markings was not an easy task, as “powders and fragments would cover one’s face and fill one’s lungs with dust; hardened dirt, rock, and plaster could push back and split fingernails; and carving implements, including metal nails, blades, and stones, surely drew blood when the lighting faded or surfaces grew unwieldy”.[7] Ancient graffiti in this area has been found in many languages including Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac, and Greek.[2]

In 1995, then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by an ultranationalist who was opposed to Rabin's peace initiative.[8] This assassination had profound impacts on Israeli society as a whole, and shattered the sense of political stability. In the aftermath of Rabin's death, graffiti and street art emerged as a powerful form of expression for many young Israelis.[9] Professors Avigdor Klingman and Ronit Shalev argue that the graffiti following this assassination can be seen as a form of "ritual bereavement" and that "the graffiti produced immediately after Rabin's assassination created a kind of collectivism that allowed individuals to cope in the face of a bleak situation by actively developing an expressive ritual of fellowship, which affirmed that one was not alone in grief, anger, shame, or sense of helplessness".[1] These professors also conducted a study on the graffiti found near the assassination site in Tel Aviv, filing each piece of art into a category. Set 1 was done immediately after the assassination, and set 2 was done around 10 months later.

An important part of the graffiti following the assassination was how the youth combined both Rabin's past as a military leader with his more recent desire for peace. For example, one piece of graffiti found in the square reads "In memory of the peace leader. We will always be with you in fire and water—I salute you, General," while another says "you were our leader in time of war, a prophet in time of hope and the Messiah in time of peace—and our dream was murdered." Researchers Diana Luzzatto and Yehuda Jacobson explain that "The gap between the characteristics of Rabin’s image on the two axes [military and peace] is bridged within the graffiti. The realm of the graffiti reunites, by written expression, Rabin’s contradictions, or those aspects of his existence perceived as being contradictory. The written word and its power to construe reality allow for the devising of the image of the ‘leader of peace’ as both a family man and a military leader."[10]

Demographically, about 63% of the names attributed to graffiti around the square were female names. Some of the graffit was also written in English, and the most commonly drawn symbol was the Peace sign, with the Star of David in second.[1] Unlike many other acts of graffiti or street art, the ones surrounding Rabin's assassination were legitimized. Most of the art existed without problem for 15 months, and when the government announced their plans to erase it from the walls of the square, public uproar and media attention was able to stop the action. [10]

Banksy's Flying Balloon Girl near the Qalandia checkpoint.

The Israeli West Bank barrier has become known for its political graffiti. It first began to garner international attention in 2005, after the anonymous British graffiti artist Banksy visited and left nine works on the barrier. This inspired other acclaimed international street artists to paint on the wall, such as Blu, Paul Insect and Sam3. These efforts, and subsequent exposure in the media, resulted in almost one million dollars being raised for Palestinian charities. The art on this barrier is often referred to as a form of Sumud, what literary scholar Tahrir Hamdi calls "creative resistance."

Local Palestinian artists also have a large presence on the wall, whether that is creating their own art or "Palestinizing" the wall art made by others. For example, as a local youth explained, "Someone bricked up the window Banksy painted on the wall. Maybe they didn't like his work, or the idea of a beautiful landscape. For me, the issue is not about rejecting the view but whether it's the right time to imagine it".

The Israeli government often has tried to censor Palestinians from using graffiti and street art as a form of resistance or communication. During the First Intifada, graffiti “became a way to organize protests, strikes, and rallies; to affirm allegiances; to warn against collaboration; and finally, to demarcate political boundaries.”[11] To stop this, Israeli forces imposed fines, threatened imprisonment, and collaborated with local Palestinians to remove the works they found the most troubling, such as those with heavy references to the Nakba.[12]

Some Palestinian critics view these pieces of art as further eroding their sovereignty over their space. Others accuse artists of beautifying the wall and creating artistic tourism that actually helps legitimate its presence. There are also concerns that such murals do not actually challenge Israeli authority.

Recently, with the rise of the so-called "electronic Intifada", graffiti has taken a step back in terms of prominence for Palestinian resistance. There even was an website with a virtual separation barrier, where users could "tag" or "bomb" it with protest art.[11][13]

Graffiti as peace activism: The Peace Kids in Florentin depicting Israeli Srulik and Palestinian Handala embracing one another

Florentin, a neighborhood in Tel Aviv, is known for its vibrant street art scene. Historically one of the more impoverished areas in Tel Aviv, thanks to the low rent in recent years it has become a popular spot to live amongst Israeli youth.[14] Because of its run-down nature, Florentin has long been the subject of urban renovation plans, with many of its buildings being marked for demolition. These abandoned buildings have become canvasses for the area's youth -- resulting in a flourishing graffiti culture at the local level.[15] Researcher Caroline Rozenholc notes that "its 'dark' reputation accumulated through years of poverty and lack of municipal concern is nowadays dissolving into a sense of 'authenticity.'”[16]

As many of Florentin's residents are familiar with economic hardship, the common theme amongst the street art is one of "absence". Even "smiles, when they appear, can be distorted and twisted, or bordering on lunacy."[15]

Often, the graffiti found in Florentin is politically charged, and often made between rival political groups. For example, one piece of graffiti that read "The infiltrators [African migrants and refugees] are a cancer" had the word "infiltrators" changed to "racism" so it now read "racism is cancer." These graffiti wars are quite common, with some pieces having their meanings change over and over again.[17]

Street art in Jerusalem is different than it is in other parts of the country. There have been multiple deliberate projects designed to bolster the presence of graffiti in the capital, mainly by the director of the Jerusalem Center Development Company, a branch of the Jerusalem Development Authority. To be legal, before implementation the designs are subject to approval by both the local authorities and the adjacent residents and business owners who may be impacted by the artwork. Moreover, there are official guidelines in place that prohibit any depictions of political ideologies, violent content, or other unsuitable imagery.[20]

Upside-down portrait of David Ben-Gurion at the Mahane Yehuda Market

The penalty for illegal street art in Israel can be a fine or up to a year in prison.[26] In April of 2023, a Bnei Brak resident was arrested for graffitiing “Rabin is a terrorist, war criminal” on a Rabin memorial in Tel Aviv. [27]

• Culture of Israel