By Serena Bazzana The quest for Palestinian freedom and autonomy is a story of ongoing oppression and repression. Despite facing brutal suppression, censorship, and bans, the Palestinian people consistently employed symbols of “hidden transcripts,” as defined by James Scott, to sustain their fight for freedom. This article explores some of such hidden transcripts, namely the watermelon, the key, the spoon, the Keffiyeh, and the olive trees. The list, however, is way longer and still expanding, including the Handala, the traditional cuisine, such as maqluba, falafel, and baba ganoush, the traditional music and dances, the Palestinian Poppy, lemons and oranges, the Dome of the Rock, the cactus, and so on. Photo Credit: Reuters The Watermelon بطيخ Following the Six-Day War in 1967, the Palestinian flag was banned by Israel in the occupied Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Therefore, Palestinians started carrying slices of watermelon in protest as its colors correspond to the ones of the Palestinian flag: red, white, green, and black. The fruit is also really popular in Palestine as it is grown locally by Palestinians. With time, the watermelon came to embody resistance and persistence and became a more subtle and safe way to express national pride. In 1993, after signing the Oslo Peace Accords, the ban on the Palestinian flag was lifted. However, persecution for showing the flag never actually stopped. In practice today, the flag is effectively prohibited, as it can get confiscated, and Palestinians can get arbitrarily arrested for posting or waving the flag. Therefore, the watermelon has been widely used also in protests and demonstrations around the world calling for a free Palestine. On social media as well, the watermelon emoji often replaces the Palestinian flag or name to escape the algorithm, which multiple times massively took down pro-Palestine content. Photo credit: indy100 The Key مفتاح In 1948, more than 750,000 Palestinians were made refugees in their own land. Zionists occupied more than 78 percent of Palestine and mass expelled Palestinians from their own house to build the Jewish state of Israel. Zionists ethnically cleansed and destroyed about 530 villages and cities, killing about 15,000 Palestinians. The mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians is called Nakba النكبة in Arabic, which means “catastrophe,” referring to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine and the near-total destruction of Palestinian society. Many displaced Palestinians kept the keys to their homes, hoping one day to have the right to return to their homes. Holding their homes’ keys is an act of defiance and hope for many displaced Palestinians waiting to regain the right to return to their ancestral lands. Indeed, the right to return is a fundamental principle stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which asserts that all refugees have the right to return to their homeland. However, the Israeli apartheid state has consistently denied exiled Palestinians this basic right. The Spoon ملعقة The spoon is a lesser-known symbol of Palestinian resistance. In 2021, six Palestinian political prisoners escaped prison by reportedly excavating a tunnel with a spoon. The jailbreak was perceived as spectacular after social networks shared images of a tunnel at the foot of a sink in the high-security Gilboa prison in Israel. After being re-captured, the six Palestinians declared to have dug the tunnels using spoons, plates, and even the handle of a kettle. Since the story became popular in Palestine and worldwide, people have been holding spoons during pro-Palestine rallies to denounce the extreme violence and torture used in the re-capture of Palestinian prisoners. The spoon, a simple kitchen utensil, was unexpectedly transformed into a powerful emblem, emphasizing the ongoing struggle and resilience of the Palestinian people in the face of oppression and apartheid. The Keffiyeh كوفية The Keffiyeh is a typical Palestinian scarf that used to be worn by Palestinian farmers during the Ottoman period. During the 1930s Arab revolution against the British Empire, the black and white keffiyeh became a symbol of Palestinian nationalism. In the 1960s, the keffiyeh reemerged as a unifying nationalist symbol for Palestinians, worn both by men and women. In 1969, Leila Khaled, a Palestinian activist and former militant, wore it as a woman’s headscarf while holding a rifle, becoming an icon in the Palestinian resistance movement. Today, the keffiyeh still holds a deep and symbolic value of resistance, struggle, and freedom for the Palestinian people. It is also worn as an unspoken expression of solidarity with the Palestinian cause. Photo Credit: Freedom Archives The keffiyeh is embroidered in three patterns: the fishnet pattern, the bold lines, and the olive leaves. First, the fishnet pattern represents the connection of Palestinians to the sea. It is also believed to be a symbol of collectivism, interpreting the dots as individuals who are knotted into a wider and stronger entity. Then, the bold lines indicate the trade routes crossing historic Palestine turning the region into a fulcrum of exchange and commerce. They also can be interpreted as depicting the walls surrounding Gaza which constrict Palestinian freedom. Photo Credit: Hirbawi The Olive Tree أشجار الزيتون Lastly, the olive leaves represent the immense economic and cultural significance of olive trees to Palestinians. Olive trees are resilient thanks to their deep roots in the earth. Passed down from generation to generation, family olive trees stand as a testament to centuries of care and connection to the land. With an average lifespan of 300-600 years, and some reaching 3,000 years old, olive trees reflect the resilience of Palestinians and the attachment to their land. They not only symbolize peace but also resistance to the occupation and an unwavering bond between the people and their ancestral land. Indeed, the Israeli military and settlers are uprooting and destroying the lands, crops, and family olive trees of the Palestinian people. Palestinian farmers are prohibited from reaching their cultivations and plantations that their families have been taking care of for generations. Israeli settlers assault farmers and destroy and burn every “wild plant.” This behavior shows the deep connection of the indigenous Palestinians to their ancestral land versus the destruction brought by the Israeli colonizers. Photo Credit: Jacobin
The symbols of the Palestinian struggle for freedom serve as a collective expression of resilience, resistance, and hope for a better future. These symbols are not relics of the past but living expressions of a people’s ongoing fight for autonomy and justice. Whether for waving the Palestinian flag, wearing a keffiyeh, or posting on social media, supporters of a free Palestine are constantly targeted and persecuted. However, Palestinians and allies refuse to be silenced and continue to condemn the genocide and ethnic cleansing the Israeli government is carrying out. References: https://www.kufiya.org/what-does-the-palestinian-keffiyeh-symbolize/ https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2F6326312%2Fwatermelon-palestinian-symbol-solidarity%2F&t=NzEyOTAyYWI1NjQxNTg4MDQzNTU2YTc3ZDY0MGQzZTcwNmE2YzdlYywxYjU0ZTRkNzM2ODJmYTczNjM3MDdkMDQwZDMzMmRkZDNlMmZhM2Ix&ts=1702359903 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/16/watermelon-emoji-palestine-meaning-symbol/ https://egyptianstreets.com/2023/10/24/how-did-a-watermelon-slice-become-the-symbol-of-palestinian-solidarity/ https://embraceme.org/blog/symbol-of-resistance https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2021/9/19/spoons-a-new-symbol-of-palestinian-freedom https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2017/5/23/the-nakba-did-not-start-or-end-in-1948 https://www.savoirflair.com/article/palestinian-art-and-symbols/4641f8be-c5d4-44e1-a4ea-d9396b8067e0 https://ummah.com/21-powerful-symbols-of-palestine-that-echo-heritage-and-resilience/ https://jacobin.com/2023/11/west-bank-israeli-settlers-palestinian-olive-trees-violence-occupation/ a
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May 2024
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