META censorship: Women artists embrace Palestine’s watermelon metaphor

The Palestinian flag invariably triggers frustration, fear and even recklessness from the Israeli state. Throughout Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestine, the public display of Palestinian flags has been banned. Even the combination of green, red, black and white — the colours of the Palestinian flag — deeply unsettles them.

And in 1980, when the Israeli army told three Palestinian artists — Nabil Anani, Sliman Mansour, and Issam Badr — to shut down their exhibition at 79 Gallery because they had used the colours red, green, black, and white in their artworks, the watermelon became popular as a symbol of the Palestinian flag and as a metaphor for Palestinian resistance.

Recalling that fateful day, Mansour told Abu Dhabi-based newspaper ‘The National’ in 2021 that, “The Israeli army told us that painting the Palestinian flag was forbidden; even the colours were forbidden.”

Badr had then reportedly asked the Israeli officer, “What if I were to make a flower of red, green, black, and white?”

To this, this officer replied: “It will be confiscated. Even if you paint a watermelon, it will be confiscated.”

Palestinian academician and human rights activists Sami Al Arian confirms the authenticity of this event, saying the three artists “defied that confiscation by painting watermelons and colourful flowers using the Palestinian flag colours.”

“The phenomena after that became widespread,” Al Arian adds.

The incident reflected the symbolic power the Palestinian flag had over the Israeli military’s imagination.

Even today, this symbolism has found a place in the digital realm, helping Palestinians overcome the shadow-banning of pro-Palestinian content on social media platforms.

The watermelon also continues to be used by many young artists in their artworks to show solidarity with Palestinians.

Even prior to the 1980 art exhibition, the watermelon strongly resonated symbolically with many Palestinians, especially in the aftermath of the Six-Day War in 1967, when the Israeli government imposed a ban on the public display of the Palestinian flag — even a mere depiction of the flag, whether in drawings or aged photographs, came with a risk of imprisonment.

Faced with these challenges, Palestinians turned to watermelons and reclaimed them as a form of protest against Israeli violence and occupation.

The expression rattled Israel — to the point that it banned the display of fruit on Palestinian streets. Even the simple act of holding a slice of fresh watermelon outdoors rubbed Israelis the wrong way.

Meta’s ‘algorithmic glitches’

Social media giant Meta has been slammed by several pro-Palestinian voices for “intentionally” restricting the content that exposes Israeli brutalities against Palestinians.

Media analyst Sabri Ege tells TRT World that META has been hiding behind the cover of “algorithmic glitches” to shrug off responsibility when it comes to maintaining the plurality of voices.

“The term ‘algorithmic glitches’ fits the concept of ‘algorithmic violence’,” Ege says.

“Suppressing Palestinian voices contributes to the normalisation of Israeli oppression. By stifling support for the Palestinian cause, these mechanisms not only exacerbate and perpetuate the existing violence but also obstruct the fulfillment of their fundamental needs,” he adds.

Despite these challenges, young artists have come up with novel ways to counter Israeli disinformation and to circumvent Meta's censorship of critical voices exposing Israel’s brutality in Gaza and in the occupied West Bank.

Here again, the watermelon symbol has become instrumental in disseminating information on Facebook and Instagram about Palestinian protests against Israeli barbarity without it being blocked or removed by Meta’s algorithms.

Bypassing algorithmic shadowbanning

On September 15, Turkish podcaster Elif Nuran Ozgun-Alboshi initiated a campaign on social media using the watermelon symbol accompanied by the motto: “Land of olives and lemons, we are with you!”

“My Instagram stories usually receive over 1,000 views, but my story on the number of children killed by Israel was viewed by only 12 people. When I noticed this, I decided to find a solution to this violation occurring on social media for the sake of Palestine,” Alboshi tells TRT World.

She combined two images into one single post and used a Palestine-shaped watermelon drawing.

“Bullies are often strong, not only physically but also socially and culturally. For example, today, those who side with the tyrant and the occupation even restrict posts on social media. The accounts of those who share on certain themes are restricted, their stories are not visible, their posts do not appear on the home page” she said in the post’s caption.

“Let all roads be blocked, and we will still show solidarity, maybe with a watermelon emoji. We continue to stand by the right, not the tyrant. Let the posts be blocked. We support you even without mentioning your name. O, land of olives and lemons, we are with you!” she added.

It resonated widely across Meta’s platforms, drawing even more engagement than she expected.

In another instance, an illustrator named Hira depicted lemons and watermelons cut in half and connected by olive branches — embodying solidarity with Palestine. In the centre, she inscribed the rallying words: “Land of olives and lemons, we are with you.”

Encouraged by the positive response the image generated, Hira Nur Yazici, who is also a law student, turned her design into stickers and phone cases.

Similarly, Istanbul-based Esma Naz Gurbetoglu drew a Palestinian flag following the watermelon theme and integrated a verse from the Quran into the sketch.

“I'm not very good with words, so I chose drawing to reflect my own feelings towards the brutality we witnessed as much as I could,” Gurbetoglu tells TRT World.

Her motivation lies in the hope for the day when Palestine will be free, adding a powerful dimension to her artistic expression.

Esra Koc joined the campaign by sharing her artwork on social media without using the word Palestine. She drew a Muslim girl holding a slice of watermelon in front of Al Aqsa Mosque with the same caption: “Land of olives and lemons, we are with you”.

A talented children's book illustrator, Zeynep Begum Sen has also joined the campaign.

“When we share or mention a flag, our account access gets restricted. I wanted to do my part as a children's book illustrator and I crafted this piece on October 16,” Sen tells TRT World.

“The watermelon in the image, adorned with the colours of the Palestinian flag, symbolises the home of a Palestinian child. The invading insects crawling into the watermelon depict Zionist terror,” she says.

The drawing gained significant popularity, being shared hundreds of times and reaching a wide audience.

In the face of conflict, she finds herself being declared “guilty” by global media even though she is advocating for freedom of expression amidst mass manipulation.

Elif Bilgehan added her touch to the campaign by adding the verses of the Quran to a drawing of a watermelon, marking them with the words of the Surah Rad: "Peace be upon you for your patience. How beautiful is the end of the abode of the world.”