Watermelon sculpture at a roundabout in Jenin, Palestine (January 2021)
The flag of Palestine with a watermelon symbol replacing the red triangle
Solidarity gathering for Palestine in Brussels, 2023

The Watermelon is a symbol of Palestinians' public expression in protests and artworks representing the struggle against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.[1][2][3][4][5]

Origins

The Palestinian flag coloured in the Pan-Arab colors of red, green, white and black, has historically been banned at times in Israel so the locally grown and similarly coloured watermelon has served in Palestinian iconography as an alternative for decades.[6] Following the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Israel banned the display of the Palestinian flag and its colours in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and annexed East Jerusalem, with the Israeli army arresting anyone who displayed it.[7][8]

In 1993, as part of the Oslo Accords, Israel lifted the ban on the Palestinian flag.[9] At that time, the New York Times claimed "young men were once arrested for carrying sliced watermelons,"[10] but Palestinian artist Sliman Mansour has cast doubt on the validity of these claims. He remembers a conversation about it, but does not recall any actual watermelon iconography being used until 2007 when Khaled Hourani created an image for a "Subjective Atlas of Palestine" project. Other artists who have used the watermelon include Sarah Hatahet, Sami Boukhari, Aya Mobaydeen and Beesan Arafat.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ Holtermann, Callie (2023-12-27). "Why the Watermelon Emoji Is a Symbol of Support for Palestinians". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  2. ^ "Watermelon: A slice of Palestinian resistance". Middle East Eye. 17 August 2022.
  3. ^ Sharon, Jeremy (21 June 2023). "Activists use watermelons to protest police crackdown on Palestinian flags". The Times of Israel.
  4. ^ Weldali, Maria (4 August 2021). "Watermelon becomes symbol of Palestinian existence, resistance". Jordan Times.
  5. ^ Hisham, Passant (19 October 2023). "How the watermelon symbolizes Palestinian resistance". Kuwait Times.
  6. ^ Berger, Miriam (12 July 2021). "Why Palestinians are uniting around watermelon emoji". Washington Post.
  7. ^ Sella, Adam (31 August 2023). "The fruits and vegetables of Palestine and their significance". Al Jazeera.
  8. ^ Chaves, Alexandra (30 May 2021). "How the watermelon became a symbol of Palestinian resistance". The National.
  9. ^ Syed, Armani (20 October 2023). "How the Watermelon Became a Symbol of Palestinian Solidarity". TIME.
  10. ^ Kifner, John (1993-10-16). "Ramallah Journal; A Palestinian Version of the Judgment of Solomon". The New York Times. In the Gaza Strip, where young men were once arrested for carrying sliced watermelons—thus displaying the red, black and green Palestinian colors—soldiers stand by, blasé, as processions march by waving the once-banned flag
  11. ^ Chaves, Alexandra (2021-05-30). "How the watermelon became a symbol of Palestinian resistance". The National. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
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