The phenomenon certainly did not go unnoticed. On social media there are millions of posts in which a watermelon appears. Definitely out of season, but the fruit itself has nothing to do with it. Yes, because that slice of watermelon has to do with the war in the Middle East and has become the symbol of support for the Palestinians. Why watermelon? Trivially because the colors are those of the Palestinian flag: red, white, black and green. But there are also deeper and more hidden symbolic meanings: the fruit has always symbolized fertility and abundance. But there is also a historical reason. In 2007, just after the Second Intifada, artist Khaled Hourani created The Story of the Watermelon for a book titled Subjective Atlas of Palestine. From there his stylized image of a slice of watermelon became a real flag.
The origin of the symbol
The first episode, however, that launched the watermelon myth dates back to 1993, when Israel lifted the ban on the Palestinian flag as part of the Oslo Accords. In those days in the New York Times, journalist John Kifner wrote an article in which he mentioned watermelon as a substitute symbol: “In the Gaza Strip, where young people were once arrested for carrying sliced watermelons – thus showing the Palestinian colors red , black and green – the soldiers look on, with disenchantment, while the processions advance waving the once forbidden flag”. There is no confirmation that the practice (the arrest of those who showed slices of watermelon by the Israelis) was concrete or common, but nevertheless, the symbolism of the watermelon began to gain ground, linking its successes to geopolitical events of the area.
Source-tg24.sky.it