Pro-Palestinian display at Stanford University day care unnerves some parents [View all]
A day care center at Stanford University for children of faculty, staff and students is facing questions after preschoolers colored in watermelons, a symbol of Palestinian solidarity, that were then displayed on a wall alongside a Palestinian flag.
A photo circulating on social media shows 13 child-like interpretations of watermelon slices, painted on paper plates, stuck on a display board under the banner, Look what I made. A Palestinian flag hangs next to them.
Families raised concerns about the display this week and it was removed, spokespeople for the university and for the outside contractor that runs the preschool said in statements to J. on Thursday.
The watermelon has re-emerged as a potent symbol of Palestinian solidarity since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, as the watermelons red, black and green are the same colors found on the Palestinian flag.
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