Skeleton with bloody knife and bomb greets Palestinian kids at summer camp

A similar message condoning terror is conveyed by a skull possibly symbolizing death (to Israel), draped in a keffiyeh (Arab headdress), who watches from another wall as kids enjoy the summer camp activities.

By Nan Jacques Zilberdik, The Algemeiner

At a summer camp, Palestinian children and youth are greeted by a giant mural of a skeleton holding a bloody knife and a bomb with a lit fuse.

The skeleton is wearing a bandana in the colors of the Palestinian flag, and appears on one of the walls surrounding the football field where the kids spend part of the summer camp:

Text on mural in Arabic and Spanish: “Rayo is in favor of the resistance”
[Lajee Center, Facebook page, July 7, 2025]

As Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) has documented for decades, the word “resistance” is a Palestinian euphemism for terror against Israel.

“Rayo” refers to the Spanish football club Rayo Vallecano.

The skeleton is the logo of the Bukaneros, a politically inclined far left-wing support group of Rayo Vallecano:

A similar message condoning terror is conveyed by a skull possibly symbolizing death (to Israel), draped in a keffiyeh (Arab headdress), who watches from another wall as kids enjoy the summer camp activities:

Other huge wall paintings around the football field show masked rock throwers and text in English and Arabic that also encourages terror:

The text on walls reads: “Resistance until liberation and return”

In its own words, the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), which supports the Palestinian NGO running the summer camp, is “a global, nonprofit organization that strives to share God’s love and compassion for all through relief, development and peacebuilding,” and strives “to make peace part of everything we do.” [emphasis added]

The murderous skeleton teaching terror against Israel to Palestinian kids at the summer camp hardly fits the ideology of the Christian principles guiding MCC:

For MCC, peace is not just a wish. It’s our work. It’s a conviction rooted in our faith and Anabaptist convictions.

With conflict on the rise around the globe, peacebuilding skills are critical. We want to promote reconciliation, speak out against injustice and build resilience through trauma healing.

All over the world, MCC partners with local communities and organizations to build a brighter, more peaceful future.

[MCC website, accessed July 20, 2025]

At the camp, the instructors and the participating children are all wearing shirts with MCC’s name and logo on the sleeve.

Text on the front says “We’re here to stay” while “1948” is written on the back, a reference to the “right of return” to “Palestine” of “1948” — an expression of the Palestinian desire to eliminate the State of Israel.

The Lajee Center states on its website that it is “a community-based grassroots creative cultural center,” and that it is independent of the Palestinian Authority:

Lajee Center refuses any financial support from Palestinian political factions so as to not foster or support in any way any favoritism or divisions within Palestinian society…

Regarding its “ideology,” Lajee Center explains that it “works in full support of all national, human, and moral rights without exception.”

However, the center also states that “much of our project work focuses in some way on the inalienable ‘Right of Return’ for all refugees as stipulated in United Nations resolution number 194,” thereby expressing support for flooding Israel with refugees and consequently eliminating Israel as a Jewish state.

Moreover, Lajee Center supports the BDS campaign against Israel:

Lajee Center is an active signatory to the 2005 Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against the Israeli regime.

Our commitment to BDS includes full practice of all aspects of BDS in our work and the spreading of information and awareness about BDS through networking, workshops, and education.

The Lajee Center also cooperates with the anti-Israel NGO BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights.

In addition to the Spanish Bukaneros, the Lajee Center also has strong ties to another European football fan club: The Green Brigade, a supporter group of the Scottish Celtic Football Club.

Together, Lajee Center and the Green Brigade established the Lajee Celtic Football Academy, where the summer camp is being held:

The pictures show the football field of the Lajee Celtic Football Academy.

On the wall is the logo of the academy, which features a large key symbolizing the Palestinian refugees’ “right of return,” with “1948” written on it. [Lajee Center, Facebook page, July 14, 2025]

The Green Brigade is known for its extreme anti-Israel stance and solidarity with “Palestine.” On Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel and committed a massacre, Green Brigade members displayed two huge banners declaring “Free Palestine” and “Victory to the Resistance”:

Describing the warm relations with the Celtic support group, Lajee Center mentions sports’ ability to create bridges:

It is a widely held belief that football has the power to break down barriers and inspire hope. Lajee Celtic, training in the shadow of an illegal separation wall, stands as the next living proof of that idea.

[Website of Lajee Center, accessed July 20, 2025]

While the Lajee Center takes pride in its ties with foreign football fans and the “breaking down of barriers,” this ideal seems to not include Israel given the messages encouraging terror on the Lajee Celtic Football Academy walls.

Similarly, the far-left Bukaneros are known for their support for “Palestine” and the “resistance” i.e., terror against Israel.

he following tweet shows the Bukaneros-inspired painting at the Lajee Center, crediting the Bukaneros with making it:

At a football match in 2024, Bukaneros members demonstrated their solidarity by waving Palestinian flags:

As is PA policy, children at the Lajee Center summer camp were also taught to envision a “Palestine” that erases the entire State of Israel with map drawing activities:

Other camp shirts included the one below with the Lajee Center logo on the sleeve and a fist holding a key symbolizing the “return” of Palestinian “refugees”:

Text on shirt: “We are alive and remaining, and we continue dreaming further”

[Lajee Center, Facebook page, July 14, 2025]

Another camp shirt shows the PA map of “Palestine” with the text: “One people, one destiny and the return is certain“:

The author is a contributor to Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this story first appeared.

AntisemitismbethlehemSummer campTerrorism