Pro-Palestine activists recently targeted the Trump Turnberry resort in Ayrshire, leaving behind a trail of destruction. The assailants inflicted considerable harm to both the property and multiple holes across its renowned golf courses.
Palestine Action, a self-described “direct-action network,” proudly admitted to orchestrating the overnight assault on the Open Championship venue. The attack left the clubhouse drenched in red paint, several greens excavated, and the phrase “GAZA IS NOT FOR SALE” scrawled across the grass in bold, three-metre-high white letters.
Donald Trump, the current U.S. president, owns the resort having purchased it in 2014 and immediately set about making improvements, enlisting the acclaimed architect duo of Mackenzie and Ebert to make wholesale changes and improvements to the Ailsa Course.
Palestine Action declared that their actions were “a direct response to the US administration’s stated intent to ethnically cleanse Gaza.” A spokesperson elaborated, saying, “Palestine Action rejects Donald Trump’s treatment of Gaza as though it were his property to dispose of as he likes. To make that clear, we have shown him that his own property is not safe from acts of resistance.” They vowed to persist in their efforts against what they call “US-Israeli colonialism in the Palestinian homeland.”
Photos circulating online reveal the full scope of the damage inflicted during the incident.
The group identifies its primary target as Elbit Systems, Israel’s leading weapons manufacturer, while positioning itself as a coalition of individuals and organizations dedicated to ending complicity in occupation, apartheid, and genocide in Palestine.
Despite the high rating that Turnberry enjoys, it has not hosted an Open Championship since 2009 when Stewart Cink denied Tom Watson a fairytale ninth major championship and sixth Claret Jug. And the potential for future Open Championships at Turnberry is a recurring talking point and one that new R&A CEO Mark Darbon addressed last week.
“The position at the moment, in respect of Turnberry, is that we will not be taking events there until we’re comfortable that the whole dialogue will be about golf,” Darbon told The Telegraph, adding, “That could evolve in the coming years.”
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