Blood Money Performance

Jenelle Mejia

Prof. Cacoilo

Activist, Interlopers, and Pranksters

15 November 2023


My intervention is about the genocide that’s happening in Palestine. Israel has been bombing Gaza consistently for the last two months. They have killed thousands of people and destroyed their communities. The Palestinians attempting to survive in Gaza have nothing left. The Israel Defense Forces have been terrorizing Palestinians and forcing them to uproot their entire lives. Every item used in my performance was intentional. The American flag and monopoly board game represent America’s relationship with Israel. America’s relationship with Israel is purely transactional. Joe Biden visited Israel after the initial attacks and had the power to demand a ceasefire. The ceasefire would’ve helped food and medical supplies reach the people in Gaza. Joe Biden is fully aware of Israel’s intentions to mock Palestinians while they take everything from them. The Israeli government simply wants to watch the entire Palestinian population in Gaza die out. The red paint in my performance represents the blood of the Palestinians that have died.

I also decided to include a Starbucks drink in my performance. Starbucks reprimanded their employees who have spoken about the genocide on social media. It is clear that Starbucks doesn’t support Palestine and planned to remain silent on the issue. Spreading awareness about the genocide on social media has been pivotal to helping Palestine. For example, there are a few women I follow on social media who describe the conditions in Gaza. They’ve created weekly video diaries exposing the cruelty they’re subjected too. People have also become more conscious consumers. Americans that support Palestine have decided to boycott brands that support Israel. This boycott was a collective decision Americans came to on social media. In Kimberly Drew’s book “This is What I Know About Art”, we learn about the power social media holds. She created a community around a social justice issue she cared about. Drew describes how art helped her build a community, “In that moment, I began to understand how intimately art and activism could work together to produce a collective voice and shared community.” (Drew, 2020). Without social media we wouldn’t be aware of the genocide. Social media has also allowed so many of us to connect and stand in solidarity with Palestinians.

I included informational videos at the beginning of my performance. I added these videos to ensure the audience is informed on the genocide happening in Gaza. I also wanted the audience to see how everyday people were becoming activists. I was moved by how many people came together around the world to support Palestine. In Stephen Duncombe and Steve Lambert’s book “The Art of Activism: Your All-Purpose Guide to Making the Impossible Possible”, Duncombe and Lambert explain how art can have a lasting impact on the soul. Duncombe and Lambert describe the power of sharing art, "This sublime power of art to circumvent our rational minds and affect our emotions, bodies, and even spirit, has been recognized for millennia." (Duncombe & Lambert, 2021). Social media has the same ability as art to affect our emotions, bodies, and spirit. I am aware there are some people who avoid videos about Gaza on social media. I hope my performance forces them to look at what the Palestinians are going through. We should be affected emotionally by the genocide happening in Gaza.




Works Cited


Drew, Kimberly. This Is What I Know about Art. Penguin Workshop, 2020.


Duncombe, Stephen, and Steve Lambert. The Art of Activism: Your All-Purpose Guide to Making The Impossible Possible. O/R, OR Books, 2021.


I wasn't able to add the whole video. This is the first minute and it contains graphic images of Gaza destroyed. 

link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZEzHatiooczY0oNKfLx4kFmlagHNT2nN/view?usp=drive_link