Woman who cut down ribbons for Israeli hostages revealed as Palestinian-Jewish artist
Nadia Yahlom was filmed using scissors to remove yellow ribbons during an event to remember October 7 attacks.
A woman who was filmed cutting down yellow ribbons remembering Israeli hostages taken by Hamas has been revealed as a Palestinian-Jewish British artist.
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Nadia Yahlom was filmed cutting yellow ribbons with scissors in a street in Muswell Hill, north London, on the eve of the October 7 anniversary.
She was confronted and filmed by passers-by and said: “You’re not going to do this. I’m not committing a crime."
"If I am, call the police and you let them know that you have an issue with this."
Onlookers called her actions “disgusting,” to which she replied: “I think condoning genocide is disgusting. That's what this is."
A Met Police spokesperson confirmed the force was investigating to see whether a hate crime had been committed.
The yellow ribbon has become synonymous with the plight of those taken captive and is the symbol of the 'Bring Them Home' campaign.
Miranda Levy, an author and freelance journalist, recorded the woman as she systematically dismantled the tributes on Fortis Green Road, north London.
Ms Levy gathered at the memorial today to replace the ribbons and said: "As a Jewish person I felt that pull to do something. It feels personal.
She told the Daily Mail: "These ribbons are to remember people captured. Put up your own stuff but don’t take ours down."
Read more: 'Think again': Starmer tells students planning 'un-British' October 7 anniversary protests
"These ribbons are to remember all the people who were kidnapped and those who are still there. Frankly what she was doing was anti-Jewish, anti-Israel and anti-humanity."
She earlier told the Telegraph: "I was walking to get a coffee, it was a lovely sunny day, and there was a woman very mechanically snipping away with a pair of scissors.
"I was angry, it is so insensitive."
A spokesman for the Met Police said: “At approximately 4:25pm on Monday, 6 October, officers were made aware of a video circulating online which appears to show a woman removing ribbons from fence poles in Muswell Hill, Haringey.
"Officers have attended the location and are currently reviewing the footage to determine whether any offences, including hate crime or criminal damage, have been committed.
"Enquiries remain ongoing.”
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer urged pro-Palestine students not to protest on the second anniversary of the October 7 attacks.
He said the UK will "always stand tall" against those who wish harm and hatred upon Jewish communities.
According to the Centre for Research and Education in Arts and Media (CREAM), Ms Yahlom is a "Palestinian-Jewish and British artist and visual anthropologist, looking at hauntedness, supernatural life and the bio/necropolitical between Palestine and the UKs."
"She has worked with Battersea Arts Centre, Rich Mix, ICA, Open City Docs, Tate Britain, Southbank Centre and many others.
"Nadia is the co-founder of Sarha Collective, an artists collective for experimental art forms from Palestine and the broader SWANA region."
