Pro-Palestine protesters have smashed a glass cabinet at the University of Manchester and stolen two busts of Israel’s first president.
Demonstrators from Palestine Action took the sculptures of Chaim Weizmann to mark the 107th anniversary of the signing of the Balfour Declaration – a statement which announced Britain’s support for the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.
In footage shared by the group, two hooded individuals use mallets to shatter the glass and then abduct sculptures of Weizmann from the university.
The group claims that Weizman “secured the Balfour Declaration, a British pledge written 107 years ago, which began the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by signing the land away”.
Balaclava-clad Palestine activists smash glass cabinet and STEAL busts of Israel’s first president
X @Pal_action
Palestine Action says that Arthur James Balfour, the foreign secretary who signed the November 1917 letter, was “lobbied” by Weizmann into “assisting the Zionist colonisation of Palestine”.
Both men met whilst they were living in Manchester at the beginning of the 20th century.
A statement from the protest group said: “On behalf of Britain, Balfour promised away the land of Palestine – which he never had the right to do.
“After the declaration until the Nakba in 1948, British soldiers killed, arrested and raped Palestinians.
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BREAKING: Palestine Action abduct sculptures of Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann, from the University of Manchester.
Weizmann secured the Balfour Declaration, a British pledge written 107 years ago, which began the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by signing the land away. pic.twitter.com/a8urQciod5
— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) November 2, 2024
“During their colonial mandate, the British introduced home demolitions as collective punishment to repress Palestinian resistance and burnt down many indigenous villages. During this time, Weizmann was president of the World Zionist Organisation.
“From the Balfour Declaration to today, the UK remains an active participant in the colonisation, genocide and occupation of Palestine.”
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: “Shortly before midnight last night (Nov 1 2024), we received a report of a burglary at a university building on Oxford Road, Manchester.
“Officers have attended the scene and liaised with the university and their security team as part of their ongoing enquiries.”
Weizmann was first president of Israel
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Pro-Palestine protesters have smashed a glass cabinet at a University of Manchester building on Oxford Road
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The act of vandalism is part of a wider series of coordinated attacks planned by Palestine Action to mark the signing of the document.
In Cambridge, students that are members of the group sprayed a university building red, to symbolise the “blood on the institution’s walls for blood on the institution’s hands”.
The Institute for Manufacturing has been deemed by the protesters as being complicit in the genocide of Palestinians due to its ties to Rolls-Royce. The company has supplied Israel with military engines and aircrafts.
Meanwhile, in north London the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) on Hampstead High Street was also splashed with red paint, in an incident that is now being treated as a hate crime.
The group said that BICOM, an organisation which aims to spread awareness of Israel and the Middle East, was “funded by wealth made from manufacturing Israeli weapons” .
Police were called to the scene, and Detective Chief Inspector Paul Ridley later said: “I know that incidents like this cause significant concern in the community. I want to offer my full reassurance that this incident will be robustly investigated. We have been clear that we have a zero tolerance for hate crime.”