A flying Dutchman named Olax Outis, a self-described pro-Palestinian “activist,” came to the U.K. expressly to engage in pro-Hamas anti-Israel graffiti. His target was a statue of Churchill, England’s greatest statesman, standing imposingly in Parliament Square. Outis painted numerous small graffiti all over Churchill’s body, but the largest letters were reserved for the three words he scrawled in blood-red paint on the plinth, “Zionist War Criminal.” Now Outis has just been acquitted of criminal damage because, though his daubs were no doubt offensive to the people of Britain, they were water-soluble, and so easily removed. The court was unwilling to consider the outrage to the public that viewed the defacement with disgust, and may also — it’s not clear from the report — have overlooked the cost of removing those graffiti. More on Outis and his disturbing acquittal can be found here: “Anti-Israel Activist Acquitted After Defacing Churchill Statue With Pro-Hamas Symbol,” by Ailin Vilches Arguello, Algemeiner, September 16, 2026:
An anti-Israel activist who defaced a Winston Churchill statue with inflammatory slogans has been acquitted of criminal damage, in a case that raises fresh concerns over the UK legal system’s response to antisemitic rhetoric and apparent support for terrorism.
Olax Outis, 39, was found not guilty at Southwark Crown Court in London on Monday after climbing onto and vandalizing a statue of Churchill, who led Britian as prime minister during World War II, in Parliament Square earlier this year, wearing a red boiler suit bearing the words, “I support Palestine Action.”
He was accused of causing more than $9,500 in damage after spray-painting the statue red and covering it with slogans including “stop the genocide” and “Free Palestine,” as well as red inverted triangles — a symbol used to signal support for Hamas — on its front and “Never Again Is Now” across the back….
Surely his acquittal does not mean he won’t have to pay for the $9,500 in damage that he caused? I assume he still will be required to pay that sum, but that is unclear from the report..
Outis vehemently denied any wrongdoing, telling jurors that he did not believe he had committed a crime because his actions were intended to deliver a political message to the British Parliament….
Whatever his “intent,” he defaced a statue of Britain’s greatest statesman located in Parliament Square, a statue meant to honor both Churchill’s, and his country’s, indomitable resistance to the Nazis. Surely those graffiti, covering Churchill with pro-Hamas slogans and calling him, in the largest graffito, a “war criminal,” caused great mental distress to many Britons who saw or learned of it. Can’t a price be put on that mental distress? The court seems to think as long as the paint can be washed off, no harm has been done. Many who have viewed the statue bedecked with graffiti would beg to differ. Water-soluble paint can be washed away. Mental distress cannot be so easily effaced.
Outis traveled all the way from the Netherlands to Britain with one aim: to daub his graffiti on a statue of Churchill. He writes “Stop the Genocide,” which is the same as accusing the Jewish state of committing genocide, a charge that will almost certainly contribute to the antisemitic atmosphere already abroad in the land. If the court had been at all concerned about antisemitism, it might have noted the malign effect of that particular graffito, but said nothing about it. It might also have said that smearing a statue of Churchill in such a manner — accusing him of being a “Zionist war criminal” — was an affront to his memory and to the nation, but it chose to remain silent about that charge. Justice was not done. Outis was not punished.
But that charge that Outis made — that Winston Churchill was a “Zionist war criminal” — is one-third correct. Churchill was, from his earliest days to his death, a philosemite and an ardent Zionist.
So at 4 p.m., let us remind ourselves and the world of what Churchill had to say about Jews and the revival of the Jewish state.
England Invaded says
The left and islamo-leftists let off by the courts frequently now in the UK. While Brits are jailed for speaking. The legal system is infested with leftist activists, including judges and magistrates.
somehistory says
There is no shock in this. Several years ago, a man was arrested for standing there and quoting Mr. Chruchill.. It was only a matter of time before someone committing this crime would be allowed to go free.