LONDON: A pro-Palestinian activist slashed a painting of the early 20th-century British foreign minister Arthur Balfour at Cambridge University on Friday, saying his 1917 declaration was the reason the Palestinians had lost their homeland to Israel.
A video posted on social media by the Palestine Action protest group showed a woman spraying red paint over the life-size portrait before cutting it repeatedly with a knife — the latest in a flurry of protests prompted by the Israel-Hamas war.
Balfour’s declaration, made as Ottoman rule was crumbling in the Middle East and Britain a global power, said London would “view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people” and work toward it — albeit without prejudicing “the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities.”
It was the first time a major power had publicly expressed support for a Jewish homeland, gave a boost to the growing worldwide Zionist movement — and shaped what was to become interim British “mandate” rule of Palestine from 1918 onward.
Palestinians have long demanded that Britain apologize for the 67-word statement.
British oversight of Palestine ended traumatically in 1947-48 with war between Jews and Arabs, the declaration of the State of Israel and the exodus of some 750,000 Palestinians who were forced out or fled.
“Balfour’s declaration began the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by promising the land away — which the British never had the right to do,” Palestine Action said in a caption accompanying the clip.
Last week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called for tougher policing of protests in light of an increase in hate speech.
His government has particularly alleged threatening behavior by some of those attending a wave of protests against the thousands of civilian deaths and the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip.
Sunak said people had the right to protest, but could not use support for Gaza’s Palestinians to justify backing Hamas, the armed movement that rules Gaza, which Britain considers a terrorist group.
More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s military since Oct. 7, when Palestinian militants led by Hamas killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and abducted 253, by Israeli counts.
Cambridge’s Trinity College said it regretted the damage, and that support was available for college members.
Activist slashes painting of British author of Jewish homeland declaration
https://arab.news/2n4t9
Activist slashes painting of British author of Jewish homeland declaration
- A video posted on social media by the Palestine Action protest group showed a woman spraying red paint over the life-size portrait before cutting it repeatedly with a knife
- It was the first time a major power had publicly expressed support for a Jewish homeland
Russia diverts its naphtha from Oman due to Middle Eastern crisis, data shows
- Strikes have disrupted energy production and shipping, including naphtha loadings and discharges
- Since the European Union’s full embargo on Russian oil products took effect in February 2023, most Russian naphtha has been directed to the Middle East and Asia
MOSCOW: Russia has diverted its naphtha cargoes from Oman amid the Middle East crisis as it looks for new buyers, traders said and LSEG data showed, with at least one tanker now heading for Singapore.
Iran’s strikes on Gulf countries in retaliation for Israeli and US strikes against it have disrupted energy production and shipping, including naphtha loadings and discharges.
Since the European Union’s full embargo on Russian oil products took effect in February 2023, most Russian naphtha has been directed to the Middle East and Asia.
Middle Eastern countries are also the top supplier to Asia with the recent disruption forcing Asia’s naphtha margin to four-year highs, while at least one South Korean naphtha cracker operator was considering declaring force majeure and another has cut its operating rate by around a fifth.
The Liberia-flagged tanker, Amfitrion, which loaded in February in the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk destined for Oman, last week halted navigation near the Gulf of Masira and on Tuesday turned for Singapore, according to LSEG data.
Five middle-sized tankers carrying a total 180,000 metric tons of naphtha in January departed Russian ports for an offshore STS (ship-to-ship) berth near Oman’s Shinas, shipping data showed. The final destination of these cargoes remains unknown.
According to data from LSEG and traders, Russia also sent two cargoes to Oman’s Sohar in November-December, carrying a total of 190,000 tons of naphtha as its other markets dried up.
India and Taiwan were among the main Asian buyers of Russian naphtha, but recent US sanctions have prompted both countries to pull back. Exports to Venezuela have also fallen to zero this year after US President Donald Trump in December ordered a blockade on all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving the Latin American country.
Though Asian buyers face naphtha shortages, Western sanctions could force traders to shun Russian cargoes. The long navigation from Russia’s Baltic ports to Asia also prevents prompt shipments, market sources said.
