Artist Creates Soccer Ball From Israel’s Apartheid Wall

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, August/September 2019, p. 60

Music & Arts

By Elaine Pasquini

While British artist Banksy and others have used Israel’s illegally built apartheid wall in the West Bank as a canvas for elaborate murals, Khaled Jarrar utilized the enormous structure for a different form of protest. In 2012, the Palestinian artist created a soccer ball from cement he personally chipped off the wall using a hammer and chisel. The resultant “protest ball” was on display through July 21 in the “Football and the Arab World” exhibition at L’Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris.

Alongside Jarrar’s unique ball is a video of the 43-year-old vigorously chipping at the wall and collecting the broken pieces. Since attempting to destroy the wall is illegal, the artist’s friends who videotaped his actions put themselves—and him—at risk of arrest and prosecution by Israeli authorities.

Jarrar also used concrete from the apartheid wall in his well-known sculpture series “Upcycle the Wall” and his “Buddy Bear,” which consist of objects that represent Palestinians living under Israeli occupation.

Upon graduating from the Palestine Polytechnic University, Jarrar joined the local police force in order to earn money to continue his studies. Shortly thereafter, he was recruited to join Yasser Arafat’s Presidential Guard, which offered to pay his university fees. He worked for several years protecting the late Palestinian Authority president before returning to school.

The Ramallah-based artist and cinematographer received his Bachelor in Visual Arts degree in 2011 from the International Academy of Art Palestine. His documentary “The Infiltrators” was well-received at the 9th Annual Dubai International Film Festival in 2012, and his many sculptures have been exhibited around the globe to much acclaim.