You might haveactually discovered the watermelon emoji cropping up on social media: The company Jewish Voice for Peace, which hasactually collaborated big demonstrations calling for a cease-fire as the violence in Gaza heightens, justrecently shared an image of a watermelon on Instagram with a caption asking readers to goto demonstrations, avoid work, and call chosen authorities—each call to action bulleted with a watermelon emoji. People are including watermelon emoji to their Instagram dealswith or bios, posters are including watermelons in images of demonstrations, and a watermelon-themed open letter from previous Bernie Sanders staffers prompts the senator to call for a cease-fire. Maybe you’ve seen melon-speckled posts on your feeds.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza hasactually increased attention on Palestinian demonstration signs and expressions—including the watermelon, a staple of Gazan food that plays an essential function in Palestinian history.
Watermelon is part of Palestinian food and culture.
Watermelons haveactually grown in the Middle East for centuries. While there’s some argument about the fruit’s origins, researchstudy on its history usually reveals that watermelon is native to Northern Africa, most mostlikely Sudan. Through Hebrew composing, historians haveactually tracked its migration into the Middle East, as early as ADVERTISEMENT 200, where it was utilized as a spiritual tithe along with figs, grapes, and pomegranates.
Recipes including the fruit are typical throughout Levantine foods and cultures. Palestine is no exception. Variations of watermelon salads are typically served as a meze throughout the Mediterranean (in Egyptian, Greek, and Palestinian dishes alike). In her cookbook Levant, Rawia Bishara, the Palestinian American chef behind the diningestablishment Tanoreen in Brooklyn, consistsof a dish for a cold watermelon and Halloumi salad.
A popular meal in Southern Gaza called fatet ajer (or qursa, for the bread it is served with) includes unripe watermelon, eggplants, peppers, and tomatoes, which are roasted and stewed, then served over flatbreads with olive oil—another staple in Palestinian food. “It’s like a huge, chunky mix of baba ganoush, a little spicy kick, and that watery, kind of juicy sensation of that child watermelon,” explains NPR reporter Daniel Estrin, who tasted the meal on a journey to Gaza.
In the 1960s, watermelon endedupbeing a sign of demonstration for Palestinians.
In 1967, throughout the Six-Day War battled inbetween Israel and surrounding nations consistingof Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, the Israeli federalgovernment prohibited shows of the