This piece, by Ben Heine, entitled 'I Love you, But..." is the most powerful and highly appropriate art work reflecting the hatred of the Israelis and the Palestinians.
You can see that their faces are covered up, but they are trying to kiss each other.
This could reflect how both of them refuse to see the other side's predicament of anguish and loss, so peace making is entirely futile. They are blinded by their own interests.
The grenades they both carry imply that there will be no winner or resolution, they will both continue to suffer.
Perhaps the only way to resolve this situation is if they both removed the material from over their heads and saw the reality of the situation.
Heine modified the original artwork by Rene Magritte, entitled 'The Lovers' and is shown below.
A blogger from http://www.demandmore.org/ commented on the painting, saying:
"In modern relationships, even in sexual relationships, each party comes to the table hiding his or her true self. Relationships are seen as a long and draining bargaining process where the needs of the other party are constantly ignored or belittled. Neither party is prepared to make the necessary sacrifices that must go into nurturing a healthy relationship; on the contrary, the parties involved seek to extract as much as possible from the other side. Healthy relationships (sexual and otherwise) require the lowering of interpersonal barriers and the production of a natural give-and-take, something that can only come when the needs of the other person are elevated more than the needs of the self.
The shrouds wrapped around the faces capture the fact that even in intimate contexts, we choose to remain separate from others. Where there is separation and division, there can never be genuine love."
It's easy to apply this analysis of the painting to a different context - the relationship between Isrealis and Palestinians.
Today it was reported on the BBC website that 879 Palestinians have died since the Isreali offensive began on 27 December. It has been liked to the Jewish Holocaust. In contrast, only 13 Israelis - 10 soldiers and threee civilians have died.
The Isreali/Palestinian conflicts have been raging for over 60 years. The Jewish Israelis and the Muslim Palestinians both belief that Israel/Palestine was given to them by God, and to allow anyone else ownership would be an insult to God and a sin. Surely the killing of innocent civilians would incur the wrath of God far more?
With every death and act of terrorism, the deeper their hatred for each other becomes. Will there ever be an end to this madness? Or will we be experiencing another world war in our lifetime?
Are there any solutions? Is there anything we can really do as mere citizens? Or are we powerless to stop the loss of innocent lives on a mass scale? Will this conflict survive our generation and the next? There seems to be no end, the prognosis is bleak.
For more of Ben Heine’s artwork, which include similar paintings to the one discussed, please visit his flicker page at http://flickr.com/photos/benheine/
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