Two pro-Palestine activists have avoided jail after being convicted of criminal damage for targeting Picasso's painting "Motherhood" at the National Gallery in London. NHS worker Jai Halai, 25, and politics student Monday-Malachi Rosenfeld, 23, both members of the group Youth Demand, covered the 125-year-old artwork with a poster of a Gazan mother and child before pouring red paint on the gallery floor in October 2024. A Southwark Crown Court jury found the pair guilty following a trial in July, though the judge noted no actual damage was done to the painting itself.

Judge David Tomlinson sentenced both activists to a 12-month community order with 80 hours of unpaid work, sparing them custodial sentences. The court heard the poster was deliberately chosen for its resemblance to the Picasso work and that the protest was pre-planned, with the pair chanting "Free Palestine" as they were removed from the gallery. The judge acknowledged their young age and the fact the work itself was not damaged, while defence lawyers cited the activists' personal motivations, including Rosenfeld's Jewish upbringing and Halai's reaction to images from Gaza.