Sunday, October 29, 2017

Lush knows it's not an Israeli doing this. But he uses anti-Israeli sentiment as a means to maintain his antisemitism and the support of the hotel workers who like him. They think because he's painting images on the wall, he is helping/supporting Palestine. That's it. If you don't like the images, simply, you're Yahoudii. He knows this and plays it, openly shouting "YAHOUD!" when others are around. Yes, a white man from Australia is behind a group of upset Palestinian men shouting "YAHOUD".

The hotel is either not nuanced in the context of alt-right or whiteness, etc (or they don't care)...and understandably so. It's not really a priority. Why would it be? This guy comes to the hotel. Pays money. Paints. He is a nice guy, khalas. Any resistance is met with a closed-group mentality and seen as supporting Israel. That's simply how it is: Art of the wall = helping Palestine get more attention, therefore good. It is not complicated, but it is perfectly logical. There's this false belief of "awareness" of the cause through this kind of work.

But there's nothing really mysterious about this man. He's tall, grimy lookin', long blonde hair. He is a stereotypical entitled white male alt-right walking garbage can: Antisemitism, Western-Centrism, and the entitlement of patriarchy. There is nothing new or nuanced or wild about his work and the positions they speak too. He has painted numerous images over long-standing Palestinian artwork, completely erasing those who have invested in it, centering his own brand (though he in at least one case he received permission from the artist). When corrected or challenged by Palestinians, he blocks them or directs his fan base to harass them, often with racist, orientalist, and/or sexist insults. He knows what he’s doing. He actually does oppose the Occupation, but for anyone who knows even a fraction about Palestine, you know what little that can actually mean.

After numerous conversations with Palestinians here and abroad who are displeased, a small group of people, Palestinians and foreigners, sought to cover it. Paint over it, nothing else. Just his. Interesting conversations ensued with those passing by. However, some felt compelled to tell the hotel. We were abruptly stopped and forced to go home, as if they owned it all. 
They also stopped my friend (a Palestinian) who was leaving and forced him to delete his camera. Essentially, they have decided all of the wall in that area is a commodity, and they are the gatekeepers of that capital- which is something that was criticized when the hotel opened.















This is not the perspective of everyone on this issue. Many people are displeased with the entire nature of the venture and what it's inviting. There will never be a consensus on this issue, which why later that night several other people went back.

During this period of time, two people who witnessed us being asked to leave were there. They began to protest my friends actions. However, he is very persuasive. By the end of the interaction he has them up on the wall with him covering the murals WITH him and even agrees to meet some of them the next morning.

View that here.

Read his brilliant explanation about why he did it here. 
Review some of the initial criticism the artist's racism here.


The next morning, the same few guys who forced us to stop earlier the day before confront him. By the end of THIS conversation: he has them offering him resources from their arts store for FREE. That's how where we are now.

LushSux truly believes he's here "helping" the "poor Palestinians" with "Wall tourism" as if everyone's coming here to see his work. White saviorism.






Lush knows it's not an Israeli doing this. But he uses anti-Israeli sentiment as a means to maintain his antisemitism and the support...