# The Jenin Horse

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The Jenin Horse (Arabic: حصان جنين), also known by its Arabic name Al-Hissan (The Horse), was a sculpture built in 2003 in Jenin, Palestine, out of scrap metal from houses and vehicles destroyed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during the Second Intifada. One piece of the horse came from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) ambulance which was attacked by the IDF, killing Khalil Suleiman in 2002. Considered a landmark of Jenin, the sculpture was dismantled by the IDF on October 29, 2023.

## Construction

The 16 foot (5 meters) sculpture was sponsored by the Goethe-Institut. Designed by German artist Thomas Kilpper, it was assembled with the help of about twelve Palestinian teenagers in June 2003. Over the course of several weeks, they built the horse with scrap metal salvaged from houses and cars destroyed by the IDF during the Second Intifada. One piece of the horse came from a large panel of a PRCS ambulance that had been destroyed on March 4, 2002, in Jenin. In the attack, the Israeli military killed the head of the local PRCS emergency services, Khalil Suleiman, and injured his colleagues as they attempted to rescue a wounded girl.
While building the horse, Kilpper observed the difficulties of life in Jenin, including intermittent curfews, IDF raids, and the trauma of his assistants. Additionally, some members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades shot at the horse but later apologized. Kilpper and four of the teenagers accompanied the completed sculpture as it was towed by tractor through multiple Israeli checkpoints to Ramallah. After the tour, the horse was set up in a roundabout close to the entrance of the Jenin refugee camp.
The Horse of Jenin was considered one of the landmarks of Jenin and a monument to sumud, the Palestinian cultural value of steadfastness. One Guardian journalist called it a symbol of "renewal of life from death and destruction". In an interview, Kilpper stated that the Jenin Horse "reclaimed public space and reopened it for social and cultural development" during a time when the IDF frequently required local residents to remain indoors.

## Dismantling and aftermath

On October 29, 2023, the sculpture was removed and carried away in a backhoe by the IDF. It is assumed by several sources that the IDF destroyed the horse. In the same raid, the IDF killed several Palestinians, one of whom they said founded the local branch of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Kilpper called the act "outrageous" and said that he felt "terribly powerless in the face of the scale of destruction.” A Jadaliyya article said that "the settler state tried to destroy a 'symbol of destruction' because he is also a 'symbol of survival,' and then hauled him away into an unknown future."

## Depiction in media

Images of the sculpture have been used in protests of the Gaza War, including a large model of the horse that has been brought to demonstrations in England. Activists created a quilt inspired by the AIDS Memorial quilt that features pro-Palestinian slogans and images, including a reference to the Jenin Horse. The quilt was displayed at a protest on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Palestinian artist Alaa Shehada wrote a solo show called The Horse of Jenin that he has performed since 2024 in multiple locations, including Amsterdam, London's Theatre Royal Stratford East, and New York's Under the Radar Festival. The show, a comedy, recounts stories from Shehada's life centered around the Jenin Horse. Shehada ponders the fate of the horse after its "arrest" and concludes that the IDF "can’t destroy its meaning."
The Jenin Horse is mentioned in the poem "The Book of Sumud" published in the Summer 2016 Prairie Schooner.

## External Links

* Thomas Kilpper's diary about building the Jenin Horse
* Thomas Kilpper's video documenting the Jenin Horse

## See Also

* Public art
* Destruction of cultural heritage during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip