Comedian Elyse Myers shares first post in months after being targeted by Operation Watermelon

Comedian Else Myers has returned to Instagram after taking a break from social media platforms.

Back in April, Myers swiped all of her content from TikTok and wrote on her bio: "Taking a break from this app I'll see you when I see you."

While Myers didn't comment on the reason behind the break, it came at a time when she was inundated with comments urging her to raise awareness of the Gaza conflict, or Operation Watermelon as it's known online. She has since turned to Instagram with a snap of her reading a book with the caption: "hi hello I love you".

At the time of writing, more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed at the hands of Israel’s offensive after Hamas attacked southern Israel and killed 1,200 people on 7 October. A further 92,401 Palestinians have been wounded since Israel's aggressive response and over 85 per cent of the population have been displaced from their homes.

@elyse_myers/Instagram

What is Operation Watermelon?

Operation Watermelon is a social media movement birthed by TikToker @angie_mariie.

The aim is to get creators, influencers and celebrities with large platforms to share awareness on the situation in Gaza.

Since October, many of Myers' videos were flooded with comments about Gaza, including many with the watermelon emoji.

Some criticised Operation Watermelon for harassing Myers, with some saying it's not Myers' responsibility to talk about Palestine.

However, many pointed out that the intention was never to harass, but to encourage awareness and education. Others added that if you have time to post regular content you have time to raise awareness.

It is important to reiterate that Myers has not confirmed if Operation Watermelon is the reason behind her social media break. Indy100 reached out to Myers for comment.

What does the watermelon emoji mean?

The watermelon emoji has become a powerful symbol for Palestinians and Free Palestine protestors. In fact, it has been a Palestinian symbol for decades.

It first became widespread after the Six-Day War in 1967, when Israel seized control of the West Bank and Gaza and made public displays of the Palestinian flag a criminal offence in the regions.

To get around this, Palestinians started using the fruit instead, which bears the same flag colour scheme of red, green, black and white.

Israel officially lifted the flag ban in 1993 as part of the Oslo Accords, which involved mutual recognition from both sides and represented the first formal agreements to try to resolve the decades-long conflict.

Since then, Israeli authorities have frequently cracked down on the flag claiming it could "disturb peace".

In 2007, artist Khaled Hourani created The Story of the Watermelon for a book called Subjective Atlas of Palestine. In 2013, he picked out one watermelon print and called it The Colours of the Palestinian Flag, which has been viewed globally since.

In 2021, the symbol became widespread again, after an Israeli court ruled that Palestinian families based in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem would be evicted from their homes to make way for settlers.

During the most recent conflict, social media has played an increasingly important role – but many have claimed that posts and messages with overt Palestinian symbols are being restricted by tech giants like Meta, which runs Instagram.

People have claimed their content is being “shadow-banned”, meaning it is quietly deprioritised by Instagram’s algorithm. Others have said their posts are actively being over-moderated.

Meta has denied this, calling the issues “a glitch”. The alleged phenomenon has been documented for years, but claims have become more widespread in the last month.

Here, the sliced watermelon emoji has again become an important symbol to express solidarity and empathy for the Israeli bombardment of the region.

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