Hate into hope, ugliness into color

Members of the public of all ages came together to transform a graffiti-covered wall in Pardess Hanna.

By PENINA HOROWITZ
A public wall in the center of Pardess Hanna (photo credit: TANYA FREDMAN)
A public wall in the center of Pardess Hanna
(photo credit: TANYA FREDMAN)
A public wall in the center of Pardess Hanna has been transformed thanks to the efforts of resident Tanya Fredman.
“It was nagging at me to do something,” she recounts. “The wall was covered with graffiti, some of which read ‘Death to Arabs,’ and I knew we couldn’t tolerate that on our streets. I asked the local council for permission to create a community mural on the wall, to bring together people of all ages to cover words of hate with color and messages of unity. The council agreed, and I gathered volunteers to scrape, clean, draw and paint.”
“The reaction has been amazing!” she enthuses.
“People of all ages have come to paint and passersby love witnessing the progress.”
“We began by scraping off layers of peeling paint and painting the wall white. I then drew the design for the mural and invited the Pardess Hanna community to paint the wall together. Kids, parents, young and old came to help fill the wall with color.”
“It’s been an incredible process, a demonstration that together we can transform hate and ugliness into color and hope.”