Graffiti in Jerusalem

In many ways it is surprising how the art of graffiti has evolved in the United States in a way that is so different from many countries around the world. Thoughtful political graffiti isn't very prevalent here in the United States, and is a development that I consider to be somewhat inconsistent with American Ideals. While imperfect like all other democracies, the United States does pride itself on being a champion of free speech; yet political graffiti is quite rare. In some ways this absence is understandable. Graffiti is the expression of free speech in its most unrefined form; it isn't legal and many murals seldom convey a clear message. It is the anthesis to the carefully written and eloquent speech of the social revolutionary. What makes graffiti somewhat taboo is also what makes it such a fantastic form of art and style of political activism.
While I am somewhat confused as to why political Graffiti isn't more common in the United States, it is easy to understand why Israel's walls have become such magnets for graffiti. The walls themselves are controversial and people naturally want to protest their existence. I suspect that there is a more specific reason why people paint graffiti on walls in the West Bank. The walls serve as literally concrete symbols of Israel's domination of West Bank that is seen as such a tragedy by so many. By coating the walls with messages and pictures, individuals can transform a negative into a positive. Over time, the walls will be seen less as barriers between people and more as canvases for activists and artist to speak their minds.