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.
