Signs with watermelons appear again and again at pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Images and emojis of the fruit, which over time has become a symbol of political protest, are also spreading on social media.
She could be seen at pro-Palestinian protests in Berlin, and in Düsseldorf a large sign with a painted watermelon stood out from the crowd. What does the fruit have to do with Palestine? The melon grows in the region and is a popular ingredient in Palestinian cuisine. But its meaning goes beyond that; it is now political. The colors of the watermelon – red flesh, green-white peel and black seeds – can also be found on the Palestinian flag.
Sliced ones Watermelons to replace the flag
After the Six-Day War in 1967, when Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, the government banned the use of the Palestinian flag in the occupied territories. She was also not allowed to appear on posters and old photos.
To get around this ban, Palestinians carried cut watermelons or showed pictures of the fruit. The melon was also increasingly used in art as a symbol of solidarity and protest.
Israel lifted the flag ban as part of the Oslo peace process when Israel and the Palestinians agreed to peaceful coexistence and mutual recognition. The flag was accepted as a symbol of the Palestinian Authority, which would administer the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The watermelon symbol stayed – and spread
But the watermelon as a protest symbol remained and continued to spread: on posters, in works of art, on graffiti, T-shirts and – decades later – also on social media.
During the Israel-Gaza conflict in May 2021, Instagram and Twitter (now X) were accused of intentionally removing posts with pro-Palestinian content. The operators of the social media channels rejected the allegations of discrimination and cited technical problems as the reason.
Amal, a Palestinian woman living in Israel, also reports in an interview tagesschau.de from online censorship: “The platform deleted everything related to Palestinian symbols – we used the watermelon emoji instead.” Amal is part of “Zazim”, a Jewish-Arab network in Israel that advocates for democracy and equality.
Watermelons on taxis in Tel Aviv
In January this year, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ordered police to display Palestinian flags in public. The flag is an “identification with terrorism,” said Ben-Gvir.
In response to the quasi-ban, the “Zazim” network launched a campaign. Pictures of watermelons with the text “This is not a Palestinian flag” were plastered on 16 taxis in Tel Aviv. The campaign was a success, says Amal. Thanks to the many donations from members, the watermelon banners ran through the city for two weeks instead of just one as planned.
A banner with a watermelon and the inscription “This is not a Palestinian flag” during protests against planned judicial reform in Tel Aviv.
The melon was also used on signs, flags and stickers during the mass protests against the planned judicial reform in Israel, says Amal.
In the current Middle East war, there are again reports of censorship of pro-Palestinian content on social media. The “Guardian,” for example, reports on users whose reach for corresponding posts decreased or whose names could no longer be found. The Instagram parent company Meta denies this. Meanwhile, the melon emoji continues to spread.
The watermelon as a symbol has nothing anti-Semitic about it, emphasizes Amal. “Not everyone who shows solidarity with the Palestinians or the residents of the Gaza Strip because of the current situation or uses the Palestinian flag or other symbol is inherently anti-Semitic,” she says.