Politicians have condemned the “stupid act of vandalism” after pro-Palestine activists damaged a picture of Lord Balfour.
The Palestinian Action Organization shared a video on social media of a protester defacing and cutting up the historical plaque hanging in Trinity College, Cambridge University.
In the clip, a woman can be seen spraying red paint before using a sharp tool to cut the canvas.
Lord Arthur James Balfour was Conservative Prime Minister between 1902 and 1905. He later became Foreign Secretary, when he signed Balfour. Balfour Declaration of 1917.
The Declaration was a general statement issued by the British government which viewed “favourably the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.”
Some blame the letter for triggering the process that ended in… The Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Palestinian Labor Organization said the declaration “paved the way for the ethnic cleansing” of the Palestinian people.
Pointing to the slave girl The war in GazaThe protest group claimed that Britain's support “for the ongoing colonization of Palestine has not abated since 1917.”
The portrait of Lord Balfour was painted by Philipp Alexius de Laszlo and completed in 1914.
Protest targeting a painting of Lord Arthur James Balfour, former Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, at Trinity College, Cambridge. Photo: Palestine Movement
Politicians were quick to condemn the stunt.
Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said he was “appalled by the senseless act of wanton vandalism”.
“Perpetrators must face the full force of the law,” he added in a post on X.
Lord Walney, the government's adviser on political violence and unrest, said: “This is outrageous. We must not tolerate protesters who think they can get away with senseless harm because they believe the importance of the issue gives them the moral high ground to cause chaos.” “
A Cambridge Police spokesman said: “This afternoon we received an online report of criminal damage to a painting at Trinity College, Cambridge.
He added, “Officers are at the scene to obtain evidence and move forward with the investigation.”
“No arrests have been made at this stage.”
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Trinity College said in its own statement that it “regrets the damage caused to the image of Arthur James Balfour during the public opening hours.”
The college added: “The police were informed.
“Support is available to any member of the college community who is affected.”
