{"id":17449,"date":"2024-06-14T13:59:50","date_gmt":"2024-06-14T20:59:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/art-for-a-change.com\/blog\/?p=17449"},"modified":"2025-08-03T09:42:25","modified_gmt":"2025-08-03T16:42:25","slug":"pro-palestinians-vandalize-washington-d-c-statues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/art-for-a-change.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/pro-palestinians-vandalize-washington-d-c-statues.html","title":{"rendered":"Pro-Palestinians Vandalize Washington D.C. Statues"},"content":{"rendered":"

On June 8, 2024, around 75,000 anti-Israel protesters came to Washington, D.C. for the \u201cSurround the White House\u201d protest against the war in Gaza. They ringed the White House with a 2-mile long red banner representing their demand for the cessation of US military aid to Israel. They called this, the \u201cpeople\u2019s red line.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The protesters demanded Israel enact a \u201cceasefire,\u201d but didn\u2019t call on Hamas to lay down their weapons. It was never mentioned that Hamas invaded Israel and killed 1,139 people on Oct. 7, 2023\u2014the atrocity that began the war.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m old enough to recall the 1967 Six-Day War between Israel and Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. I was 13-years-old. Ever since I\u2019ve closely watched and studied the troubles between Israelis and Palestinians. Over the decades I have heard and read from Arabs, Jews, and Gentiles from the left, right, and center… memories and histories of wars and chaos in the Middle East<\/span>. Let\u2019s just say I\u2019m well informed on the subject. <\/span><\/p>\n

This essay presents my views concerning the important historical statues that were vandalized by mobs during the June 8, 2024 pro-Palestine demonstration.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The vandalized Washington Circle sculpture “Lieutenant General George Washington” by Clark Mills. Photo: x.com\/LiyaShen 2024.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The famous bronze equestrian statue titled Lieutenant General George Washington<\/em> that sits in Washington Circle was targeted. The granite base the sculpture sits on was spray-painted with the slogans Free Gaza<\/i> and Death 2 Israel<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1853 the American sculptor Clark Mills<\/a> (1810-1883) was commissioned by Congress to create the Washington statue. Congress provided cannons that were melted down to provide the bronze. Mills worked from a life mask of Washington to obtain an accurate portrayal. The sculpture was unveiled & dedicated on Feb 22, 1860, which happens to be Washington\u2019s birthday\u2014the Civil War began April 12, 1861.<\/span><\/p>\n

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“Lieutenant General George Washington.” Clark Mills. Bronze equestrian statue. Photo: APK\/Creative Commons. 2010.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Perhaps the most famous of Clark Mills\u2019 sculptures is his bronze equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson<\/a>, the seventh President of the United States. The statue\u00a0<\/span>sits in Lafayette Square, named for the French general Marquis de Lafayette\u2014hero of the American Revolutionary War. Clark Mills\u2019 statue was the first American equestrian statue cast in bronze. The fifteen-ton statue was unveiled & dedicated on Jan. 8, 1853. <\/span>On June 22, 2020, Black Lives Matter protesters tried to topple the Andrew Jackson statue<\/a> but were stopped by police.<\/span><\/p>\n

On June 8, 2024, pro-Palestinians attacked the Andrew Jackson statue<\/a> leaving bloody red handprints all over the granite base. They spray-painted it with the slogans Free Gaza<\/em> and Boycott Israel Products<\/em>. This time the defacement received absolutely no coverage from the media… I\u2019m guessing that\u2019s because leftwing political vandalism has been normalized.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another magnificent statue vandalized by anti-Israel protesters was the bronze sculpture, Major General Comte Jean de Rochambeau,<\/i> created in 1902 by French sculptor Fernand Hamar (1869-1943). This bronze also sits in Lafayette Square. Vandals completely covered its granite base<\/a> with hand written graffitied messages against Israel and for Palestine. <\/span><\/p>\n

They also spray-painted the base with: Death To AmeriKKKa<\/em>, Kill Pigs<\/em>, Intifada<\/i>, Glory to the Resistance<\/i>, F**k Israel<\/i>, Militancy Is Key<\/em>, and more. Rochambeau<\/a> was a French general who famously assisted American patriots in the revolutionary war against the Kingdom of Great Britain.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cMajor General Comte Jean de Rochambeau.\u201d Fernand Hamar. Bronze statue. 1902. Photo: Daderot\/Creative Commons. 2012.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The nine-foot-tall Rochambeau statue sits atop a seventeen-foot granite pedestal. The bronze figure wears a tricorn hat and holds a battle map of Yorktown<\/a> in his left hand. Midway along the pedestal there\u2019s a bronze statue of a woman representing Victory. She holds a sword in her right hand, and in her left hand the French and American flags. At her feet is a bald eagle, symbol of America. The bronze talons of the bird clutch the pedestal\u2019s granite shield decorated with thirteen stars and stripes, symbolizing the thirteen American colonies.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a video by FreedomNews TV, a lone heroic Park Ranger from the US National Park Service is seen trying to protect the Rochambeau monument from further damage. Protesters chanting \u201cOink, Oink, Oink\u201d and “F**k You Fascist” threw garbage and bottles at him as they spray-painted the monument. It was a disgraceful spectacle to behold. Those involved should be arrested and given harsh sentences.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n