18 September 2024

On 13 October 2023, Heba Zagout was killed along with two of her children in an Israeli strike on Gaza. She was born in Al Bureij refugee camp in 1984 and as she said, ‘I was born carrying the word refugee with me. I have never seen my hometown …’

Her family originated from the village of Isdud where her grandfather had an orange grove. The family was driven off their land in 1948 and has never been able to return. Happy memories of life there is all that remains for the family today.

She was a visual artist working in acrylic. This is one of her paintings of Jerusalem. It’s called ‘Jerusalem by Night’. The charity Embrace which supports work among Palestinians in the Holy Land, has used it to produce one of many Christmas cards in their catalogue.

In the accompanying information, we are told that when Heba and two of her children were killed last October all her canvases were destroyed in the bomb attack. Fortunately, prints remain in other parts of the country, circulating in her honour.

She saw her art as a way ‘to empty all negative emotions’ onto the canvas, to present a dynamic story about her fellow Palestinians and to celebrate their resilience in the face of such devastating attacks. Her art is beautiful and the more surprising because of the context in which it has been created.

Embrace write, ‘We hope that you will join us in sending her artwork to loved ones, amplifying the voice of Palestinians in Gaza and allowing Heba’s art to accomplish the goal she intended in creating it – to tell the story of Gaza and to shine a light on injustice.’ (shop.embraceme.org)

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