Pro-Palestine protest

Activist cuts up historical painting

The activist was not arrested despite the considerable damage to property.(Bild: Handout / Palestine Action / AFP)

Pro-Palestinian activists in the British university town of Cambridge have damaged a painting by former politician Arthur James Balfour. He is associated with the founding of the state of Israel.

The group Palestine Action published a video showing how a painting was sprayed with red paint and cut up in parts (see below).

Cambridge police said they had received reports on Friday afternoon that a painting in Trinity College had been vandalized. Officers are at the scene to secure evidence and continue the investigation. No arrests have been made at this stage.

"Insane act of wanton vandalism"
Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden wrote on X that he was appalled by this "moronic act of wanton vandalism". The perpetrators should face the full force of the law.

The activist was not arrested despite the considerable damage to property.(Bild: Handout / Palestine Action / AFP)

Facts about Arthur James Balfour
During the First World War, Balfour (1848-1930), as British Foreign Secretary, wrote to the British Zionist Lionel Walter Rothschild pledging his support for the project of a national home for Jews in Palestine.

The declaration paved the way for the founding of the state of Israel in 1948, although the founding of the state was followed by a war with its Arab neighbors and the flight and expulsion of around 700,000 Palestinians. On the Palestinian side, the letter is therefore considered a historical mistake.