The artist Ahmad Hmeedat grew up in Dheisheh. In one project, he organized a group of Palestinian children to paint a mural of Handala opening a wall and facing Jerusalem.Credit…Margaret Olin
Columbia students occupying Hamilton Hall — which they renamed Hind’s Hall — in April unfurled a banner with the Palestinian cartoon character Handala, a boy with his back turned.Credit…Bing Guan for The New York Times
When pro-Palestinian student protesters took over Hamilton Hall at Columbia University last month and renamed it “Hind’s Hall,” the banner they unfurled contained images of a cartoon character created over 50 years ago that symbolizes the resilience of Palestinians.
On either side of the text were two images of a barefoot boy with tattered clothes and spiky hair, his back turned to us.
The character is called Handala (variously transliterated as Hanzala or Handzala), a name derived from a native plant that is deep-rooted, persistent and bears bitter fruit, and has become a potent symbol of the Palestinian struggle. The image was created by the Palestinian political cartoonist Naji Al-Ali in 1969, one of the most widely read cartoonists in the Arab world, who was murdered in London in 1987. (The case remains unsolved.)
posted by f.sheikh