Pro-Palestinian activists 'behead' statue of Israel's first president

A statue of Israel's first president stolen by pro-Palestinian activists has now been 'beheaded' in a move that one peer described as 'designed to terrorise British Jews.'

Campaigners from Palestine Action were filmed on Saturday violently smashing their way through a glass cabinet with hammers before grabbing a pair of statues portraying Chaim Weizmann.

Now tonight the group has posted an image of one of the busts without a head and have declared the statue 'dead'.

They said on X: 'First bust of Weizmann is dead. Soon, his Zionist project will be too!'

The incident has prompted outrage and been deemed as provocative by critics.

Politician and life peer John Woodcock, known as Lord Walney, said the chilling action by the activists 'may be interpreted as incitement'.

He said: 'The latest provocation from Palestine Action - 'beheading' the statue of President Weizmann while the memory of terrorist atrocities on 7 October is fresh and hostages are still held. It may be interpreted as incitement. 

'It is certainly designed to terrorise British Jews.'   

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Author Aviva Klompas described the stunt as 'sick'.

She wrote: 'The sick psychos who stole the bust of Chaim Weizmann from the University of Manchester posted a picture showing they cut off his head.

'What do you think these lunatics would do if they could get their hands on a living Jew?' 

Advocacy group Campaign Against Antisemitism denounced the incident as 'macabre' and said the authorities had failed to clamp down on a group now 'terrorising' the Jewish community.

A spokesperson said: 'Palestine Action is now carrying out a macabre mock beheading. 

'It is a criminal enterprise operating freely in the UK and terrorising the Jewish community.

'The authorities have been too lax on Palestine Action. Given the events of this weekend, it is clear that Palestine Action will only continue to escalate its campaign of criminality, and the authorities are failing to stand in its way.

'Whether that's due to an unwillingness to take action or an inability to do so due to the constraints of existing legislation, the result is that a group of petty vandals continue to terrorise the British public and, in particular, the Jewish community and its institutions.

'This has got to change. We are talking to the Government and our legal team is reviewing existing legislation to assess its effectiveness in tackling what has become essentially a criminal organisation that wrecks businesses and charities, and terrorises the Jewish community.

'The police and the Government must take urgent steps to ensure that Palestine Action faces enforcement action.'

The beheading of the statue follows its audacious theft from the Chemistry Building at the University of Manchester in the early hours of Saturday, which coincided with the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration of 2 November 1917.

On that date, British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour supported the establishment of a 'national home for Jewish people'. 

Prior to becoming an Israeli statesman, Weizmann was a renowned biochemist and a lecturer at Manchester University during the early 1900s. 

Palestine Action took responsibility for the stunt, saying on X they had 'abducted' the busts.

In the campaign group's X page, formerly Twitter, it said: 'Palestine Action abduct sculptures of Israel's first president, Chaim Weizmann, from the University of Manchester. 

'Weizmann secured the Balfour Declaration, a British pledge written 107 years ago, which began the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by signing the land away.' 

A day later, an image appeared of the busts, one wrapped in a red keffiyeh, the other in a white one, with the group saying 'Weizmann is now under Palestine Action's control'. 

On Monday, the group posted again on X, showing a video of the busts which were now defaced with the words 'Smash' and 'Zionism' written on each of them in red paint.

Just hours later, the group have beheaded one of the busts.

In a longer statement posted on its website, Palestine Action said on Saturday: 'Today, Palestine Action have marked, by taking two sculptures of Israel's first president, Chaim Weizmann, from its display case at University of Manchester.'

The statement went on to say: 'Over several meetings, Weizmann who as 'the rocks of Judea, obstacles that had to be cleared on a difficult path', lobbied Balfour into assisting the Zionist colonisation of Palestine.

'In 1917, a year after Balfour was appointed UK foreign secretary, he penned the Balfour Declaration, promising a 'Jewish homeland in Palestine'. 

'The public pledge by Britain came in the form of a letter dated 2nd November 1917 to Lord Rothschild, a close friend of Weizmann. On behalf of Britain, Balfour promised away the land of Palestine – which he never had the right to do.'

The incident coincided with further actions by the group on Saturday, which included red paint being thrown at the University of Cambridge's Institute for Manufacturing building, as well as the offices of charity Jewish National Fund (JNF) in Hampstead and Hendon, London.

Concerning the spray painting of the University of Cambridge's building, which they say was done in collaboration with students, the group said in a statement: 'Cambridge educated Balfour and, until direct action destroyed it, his portrait was hung in Trinity College.

'Our university's complicity in the genocide of the Palestinians runs deep; the criminology department at Cambridge University helps train 'Israeli' police and military; the Department of Material Science partners with 'Israeli' arms companies to produce armoured vehicles; Rolls-Royce operates out of the Institute for Manufacturing.

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'We must challenge complicity wherever we see it, so today we showed the world the true colours of these institutes of death; blood on the institution's walls for blood on the institution's hands.'

As regards to the vandalism of the charity buildings, the group said: 'The JNF raise funds to demolish Palestinian homes and build settlements on top of stolen Palestinian land - a recognised war crime. Amongst their honorary patrons is the prime minister of Israel.'

Following the incident in Hampstead, Detective Chief Inspector Paul Ridley said: 'I know that incidents like this cause significant concern in the community. 

'I want to offer my full reassurance that this incident will be robustly investigated. We have been clear that we have zero tolerance for hate crime.' 

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police told MailOnline earlier this week: 'Shortly before midnight last night (1 November 2024), we received a report of a burglary at a university building on Oxford Road, Manchester.

Officers have attended the scene and liaised with the university and their security team as part of their ongoing enquiries.

An investigation is underway and anyone with any information is asked to contact police via 101 or gmp.police.uk, quoting log 4035 of 01/11/24.

'You can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.'

A University of Manchester spokesperson said: 'We are aware of footage circulating online following an incident last night at our Chemistry Building. We have reported the incident to Greater Manchester Police.'

Manchester University and Greater Manchester Police have tonight been contacted for further comment.