CAMP artist and Board member Chris Gazaleh’s new mural on 16th Street (between Valencia and Guerrero), calling for an end to the “illegal, inhumane erasure & theft of Palestine” has been defaced nine times in the past two weeks. On Thursday, Gazaleh caught the perpetrator in the act; the person, pictured below, identified themselves as Michael Katz, the owner of the now-closed Katz Bagels.
This act of hate crime vandalism follows almost two years of similar attacks on five of CAMP’s murals also in support of Palestine, including one by Gazaleh. CAMP’s murals have now been vandalized 21 times. The message is clear: intimidation and harassment directed at Palestinian people and those acting in solidarity to call an end to Israel’s apartheid and settler colonial state. The response of CAMP and the artists whose murals have been impacted has been one of resilience. We have continuously repaired each of the works. They want to silence us, but we are fierce and we won’t back down. Not only do we get stronger, the visual narratives themselves become more powerful and impactful, supporting the global movement for the Palestinian right of return.
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- Caught in the act, person who identified themselves as Michael Katz
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- Hate crime vandalism painted over Chris Gazaleh’s work by Michael Katz
Hate crime attacks on CAMP murals in support of Palestine starting September 30, 2018:
- September 30, 2018
- October 1, 2018
- October 5, 2018
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- October 13, 2018
- October 18, 2018
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- October 22, 2018
- November 8, 2018
- November 12, 2018
- November 19, 2018
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- November 30, 2018
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- December 15, 2018
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- March 8, 2019
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- March 29, 2019
- April 19, 2019
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- June 2, 2019
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- July 5, 2019
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- July 23, 2019
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- August 10, 2019
- September 25, 2019 – first one to call out anyone by name – Megan Wilson’s mural had MegaNazi written on it.
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- November 3, 2019
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- December 29, 2019
