Prominent Vallejo liquor store painted with Palestinian flag

VALLEJO – The red, black white and green colors of the Palestinian flag showed up about a week ago, painted large across the storefront of a popular South Vallejo liquor store.

M&M Liquors on Sonoma Boulevard and Lemon Street can be a busy spot, especially on weekend evenings, partly because it is one of the only places to get snacks and supplies or a cold drink in the neighborhood. The store figures so prominently into the neighborhood landscape that it has received mentions from hip-hop artists E-40 – who said that he started out selling tapes outside M&M – and Nef the Pharaoh as part of their experience coming up in South Vallejo.

So when the Palestinian flag was painted across the length of the storefront from top to bottom, it created a statement that is difficult not to notice.

Many customers have responded with support for the bright, crisply painted mural, which is intended to raise awareness of the plight of Palestinian civilians in a war with Israel, said Ayman Alghaithi, who is a member of the family that owns the store. 

“My family is from Yemen which is also a war torn county,” Alghaithi said. “So we wanted to be supportive of the Palestinian people having the peace and the freedom that you need to have a good life.” 

Some don’t know about the conflict and Alghaithi said it has been a way to start conversations and raise awareness about the issue. 

“This is not about Israel and Palestine any more, it’s about humanity,” Alghaithi said. “We are totally against the attack on Israel by a small group of people – but now thousands of innocent people are getting killed.”

Hamas, which governs Palestine’s Gaza Strip, launched an attack against Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,400 people and taking 200 hostages. Israel has responded with a bombing campaign and ground offensive in Gaza which has killed over 10,000 people, including 4,000 children, according to Palestinian health authorities.  United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called the situation in Gaza a “humanitarian crisis.”

U.S. President Joe Biden has strongly supported the Israeli campaign. But over the weekend protests in cities around the world called for an end to the violence in Gaza. Tens of thousands marched in Washington D.C. and cities across the country calling on Biden to demand a ceasefire. 

Before the war began, Alghaithi had been working with local artist Christian Alberto to pick out colors and a design for M&M’s storefront. As the humanitarian crisis in Palestine unfolded, Alghaithi said that the colors of the Palestinian flag came to mind.

Alberto owns the Seven Moons Tattoo Studio on Marin Street downtown as well as a woodworking business that builds custom tables. He had also been following the crisis in Palestine so when Alghaithi proposed the flag design, he jumped at the opportunity to paint the prominent exterior in an expression of solidarity.

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Alberto said he quickly sketched out a mock-up design that Alghaithi posted on the M&M Liquors Instagram page to test out the response. 

“All of his followers loved it, so we painted it that night,” Alberto said. “We Loved to hear the people cheering as they drove by us. Every beep and every ‘YEE!’ reminded me we are all on the same team.”

Once the building was painted, Alghaithi posted pictures of the new mural on Instagram and linked to a fundraiser for the Palestine Children's Relief Fund. 

Alghaithi said that the response on Instagram has been mostly positive with some people bringing up concerns for Israel. He added that since the mural went up, the store received a couple prank calls but nothing threatening.

The Instagram post asks people to pull up to the store, take a photo, post it and tag @mandmliquors to increase visibility and bring awareness to the situation in Gaza. “This is not about choosing sides anymore,” the post states. "This is about standing up for human rights.”