London activists replace Picasso's 'Motherhood' painting with Palestinian mother’s portrait

Activists from the Youth Demand group replaced Pablo Picasso’s iconic ‘Motherhood’ painting with a portrait of a Palestinian mother and her child at the National Gallery in London.

Two activists entered Room 43 of the National Gallery, with one attempting to cover Picasso’s 1901 framed canvas with a powerful image depicting a teary-eyed Palestinian mother holding her injured child in Gaza.

The image was captured by photojournalist Ali Jadallah following an Israeli attack on Al-Shifa hospital in 2023.

The gallery's administration immediately took down the picture and arrested the young protesters.

The move was part of a direct action campaign demanding a two-way arms embargo on Israel due to its war crimes in the Palestinian enclave.

The activists also threw red paint on the floor of the National Gallery to highlight the suffering of Palestinians.

Activists replaced the Picasso 'Motherhood' painting with the image of a Palestinian Mother and Child.

Credit @youth_demand pic.twitter.com/Ec2UCrHfOp

— Khalissee (@Kahlissee) October 9, 2024

The protesters were Jai Halai, a 23-year-old NHS (National Health Service) worker, and Monday-Malachi Rosenfeld, a 21-year-old politics student.

“I’m taking action with Youth Demand because, at this point, it’s been over a year of seeing my colleagues in the healthcare field decimated by bombs and bullets.” Jai Halai said during his protest.

Rosenfeld, who is Jewish, said, “I feel it’s my duty to call out the genocide being committed in Gaza. This is not being done in the Jewish name. When Keir Starmer says Britain stands with Israel, he’s wrong. We know very well this is not self-defence—this is genocide. The people of Britain say enough is enough.”

The Youth Demand group accused the UK government of facilitating Israeli genocide in Palestine by supplying arms to the Netanyahu government. 

The resistance group called on the UK government to impose arms embargoes on Israel.

The overall Palestinian death toll since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza has reached at least 42,709 with more than 97,590 wounded. Thousands more remain trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings.