This is the new logo for the the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement, sent out by the national committee within Palestine that coordinates BDS.
Who's that little cartoon figure on the right? I've seen him on the wall in Palestine. He's Handala, a boy whose back is always turned, Palestinian symbol. Turks are now organizing an international cartoon contest in honor of the Palestinian cartoonist who created Handala.
Najl al Ali died in London in 1987, assassinated on his way to his office at a newspaper. He said of his creation:
"His name is Handala and he has promised the people that he will remain true to himself. I drew him as a child who is not beautiful; his hair is like the hair of a hedgehog who uses his thorns as a weapon. Handala is not a fat, happy, relaxed, or pampered child. He is barefooted like the refugee camp children, and he is an icon that protects me from making mistakes. Even though he is rough, he smells of amber. His hands are clasped behind his back as a sign of rejection at a time when solutions are presented to us the American way...At first he was a Palestinian child, but his consciousness developed to have a national then a global and human horizon. He is a simple yet tough child, and this is why people adopted him and felt that he represents their consciousness."
Here is electronic intifada's fine report on al Ali's life and murder (two theories). Cartoons go to an address in Turkey. By November 22.
Update, more on Turkey, from Coteret: Turkey's P.M. did not invite the Israeli ambassador to an iftar (Ramadan fast-breaking) that other diplomats were invited to. The Israelis are p.o.'d.
Aren’t we ALL Handalas, in varying degrees?
No, some people are barefoot, others wear jackboots.
We are. And things change. If the image can’t, then it is cultivation of a habit, more than a creative response.
Rejection rather than proposal. Why?
Rejection rather than proposal is what I get from likudniks.
You want us to hear someone swear rejection all up and down the blog?
Tell us what you think of Palestinian right of return, Witty.
Tell us what you think of the UN-recognized right to Jewish self-determination, and we’ll tell you what we think of the right of return.
RE: “..Najl al Ali died in London in 1987, assassinated on his way to his office at a newspaper.”
FROM WIKIPEDIA:
SOURCE – link to en.wikipedia.org
Plus ca change…
The mossad loves assassinating Palestinian poets and cartoonists. And the IDF loves burning Palestinian children to death with White Phosphorous.
Let’s not even mention here the racist and sadistic inclinations of most of israel’s citizens towards ALL ARABS.
All in all, you can deduce that israel is one heck of a forcefully peaceful and democratic country. That’s what our congress believes, anyway.
The idiots! The incompetent idiots!
Won’t be the last time Mossad were kicked out of London, as the Dubai murder case showed.
Why do the British keep inviting them back? Do the British like getting indignant over and over again that much? ;)
I knew where I’d seen that guy before. Via the Pulse website, this is a good document for those of us who need a good historical overview and easily referenced facts :
link to veritashandbook.blogspot.com
“Turkey’s P.M. did not invite the Israeli ambassador to an iftar (Ramadan fast-breaking) that other diplomats were invited to. The Israelis are p.o.’d.”
Poor Israelis. My heart bleeds for them.
Kind of would have killed the mood if the Israeli ambassador dropped in by helicopter, shot and killed a Turkish-American attache, and confiscated the feast because the cutlery constituted “a direct threat to Israel.”
But par for the course.