Break the Silence Mural in Beit Hanoun

Break the Silence is an arts/activist group committed to using creative projects to facilitate social change and a greater awareness of the complexities of the conflict in Occupied Palestine.

In 2003, the Israeli army imposed a 24 hour curfew on the Palestinian town of Beit Hanoun in the Gaza strip and then destroyed thousands of acres of orange groves as collective punishment. In response, Break the Silence and the Beit Hanoun community painted a 10' x 25' mural on the Youth Center commemorating the loss of the towns economic livelihood, the orange.



Break the Silence began 12 years ago when four Jewish American women artists traveled to the West Bank city of Ramallah and worked on a series of community mural projects with Palestinian community members and artists. Upon returning from that first trip in 1989 the artists presented their work and reflections on their experiences to approximately 100 audiences in high schools, universities, art galleries and community centers across the United States.

The children were particularly excited about a Mural being painted on their center.