9 of april
🍉 More Than a Fruit: The Watermelon as a Symbol of Resistance
To some, it’s just a refreshing summer snack.
To Palestinians, it’s history. Identity. Defiance.
After the 1967 war, Israel banned the Palestinian flag—and even its colors: red, green, black, and white. When an Israeli officer told artist Sliman Mansour, “Even if you paint a watermelon, we will confiscate it,” it planted a new symbol in resistance art.
🎨 So they did. They painted watermelons. They carried slices at protests. They made beauty out of censorship.
Because even if you erase a flag, you can’t erase a people.
Today, in the midst of devastating loss—with over 23,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza since October 2023—people around the world are once again turning to the watermelon.
🍉 In street art.
🍉 On protest signs.
🍉 In online posts—especially as social media platforms face growing accusations of censoring Palestinian voices.
Human Rights Watch recently reported over 1,000 cases of peaceful pro-Palestinian content being suppressed on Instagram alone. Artists and activists now use the watermelon not just to honor history, but as a way to bypass shadow banning and say: we’re still here.
🔴⚫️⚪️🟢 The watermelon carries the colors—and the spirit—of the Palestinian flag.
So how can we honor that? Through the most universal act of love: food.
🥗 Try this beloved Palestinian dish:
BATEEKH WI JIBNEH (بطيخ وجبنة)
Watermelon salad with salty white cheese and fresh mint. A sweet, simple taste of home.(Recipe by @palestineinadish)
🥤 Or sip a Latin American Agua Fresca de Sandía, inspired by @zeinamourtada.
A fusion of shared resistance and refreshment. Blend watermelon, lime, mint, and serve cold.
Whether in protest or on a plate, this fruit speaks. It says: We exist. We resist. We remember. And no algorithm or occupation can silence that.
#WatermelonSymbol #Palestine #BateekhWiJibneh #AguaFresca #FoodAsResistance #PalestinianCuisine #CulturalSolidarity #PalestineInADish #ZeinaCooks #MoreThanAFruit