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Watermelon as a Palestinian symbol

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Watermelon symbol, often used as an emoji (🍉)

The watermelon (Levantine Arabic: بطيخ, romanized: baṭṭīkh) 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]

Origins

The flag of Palestine, coloured in the Pan-Arab colors of red, green, white and black, had been banned in Israel in certain situations, leading to the locally-grown and similarly-coloured watermelon taking its place in Palestinian iconography as an alternative for decades.[4] Following the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel banned the display of the Palestinian flag and its colours in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, with the Israeli army allegedly arresting anyone who displayed it.[5][6]

In 1980, the IDF shut down an art gallery in Ramallah. According to the exhibit organizer the IDF explained that the rules forbade Palestinians from displaying red, green, black and white, and watermelon is an example of art that violated the Israeli army's rules.[7]

Flag of Palestine, with a watermelon replacing the red triangle

In 1993, as part of the Oslo Accords, Israel lifted the ban on the Palestinian flag.[8] At the time, the New York Times claimed "young men were once arrested for carrying sliced watermelons",[9] but Palestinian artist Sliman Mansour has cast doubt on the validity of these claims. A later editor's note to the article says "Given the ambiguity of the situation, The Times should either have omitted the anecdote or made it clear that the report was unconfirmed."[9] Mansour remembers an early conversation about it, however 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.[10]

Resurgence

In 2023, the Israeli Ministry of National Security banned the Palestinian flag in public places. In response, many Israelis displayed watermelon stickers with "This is not a Palestinian flag."[7]

Since the outbreak of the Israel–Hamas war in 2023, the watermelon symbol has experienced a resurgence in popularity. Individuals have been leveraging it, often using watermelon emojis (🍉) on various social media platforms to show support for Palestine.[1] Particularly, the symbol may be used to circumvent censorship and shadow banning on some platforms, avoiding more overt symbols such as Palestinian flags.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Holtermann, Callie (27 December 2023). "Why the Watermelon Emoji Is a Symbol of Support for Palestinians". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  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. ^ Berger, Miriam (12 July 2021). "Why Palestinians are uniting around watermelon emoji". Washington Post.
  5. ^ Sella, Adam (31 August 2023). "The fruits and vegetables of Palestine and their significance". Al Jazeera.
  6. ^ Chaves, Alexandra (30 May 2021). "How the watermelon became a symbol of Palestinian resistance". The National.
  7. ^ a b "How watermelon imagery, a symbol of solidarity with Palestinians, spread around the world". PBS NewsHour. PBS. 17 January 2024.
  8. ^ Syed, Armani (20 October 2023). "How the Watermelon Became a Symbol of Palestinian Solidarity". TIME.
  9. ^ a b Kifner, John (16 October 1993). "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
  10. ^ Chaves, Alexandra (30 May 2021). "How the watermelon became a symbol of Palestinian resistance". The National. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  11. ^ Giulia, Carbonaro (12 December 2023). "Meta's social media platforms are systemically censoring pro-Palestine content, NGO finds". Euronews Next.
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