Palestina, Children Are There - Intifada 89

The poster “Palestina, Children Are There - Intifada 89,” part of a very large collection of artwork produced during the First Intifada, is an evocative piece which contains numerous symbols and references. The central child of the poster is depicted dressed in oversized clothes, including a camouflage army uniform and the keffiyeh which serves as a powerful symbol of Palestinian identity, resistance, and nationalism. Throughout the First Intifada (Dec 8, 1987 – Sep 13, 1993), the children became the shubab for their homeland, occupying the streets as their grounds of resistance. Graham Usher describes the shubab as ‘youth activists,’ an epiphenomenon of the uprising. They are the central actors of the struggle against Israeli occupation and are also overwhelmingly its victims. 

In the poster, the state of Palestine is depicted as a coveted treat, an ice cream cone, representing something desirable that is longed for by others. This symbolism invites viewers to understand the historical context of Israeli occupation, land grabbing, and illegal settlements. The ice cream cone, brimming with flavors, symbolizes the richness birthed from the land and its people. 

On this poster, the child stands alone, but is understood as a representation of the masses. The poster employs bold cartoon caricatures with striking black outlines and a spray paint splatter. This artistic choice enhances the urgency and rawness of the message, suggesting that the image was created through a stencil method. The attention to legibility ensures almost anyone can read and understand the message, and find sympathy in the distant eyes of the child holding an ice cream cone.

Find it on JSTOR

Citations:
Usher, Graham. “Children of Palestine.” SageJournals, vol. Volume 32, no. Issue 4, 1991, pp. 1 - 18.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/030639689103200402.

“Palestina Children / Intifada 89. 1989.” Poster Auctions International, Inc.,
auctions.posterauctions.com/lots/view/1-6J9BFG/palestina-children-intifa
da-89-1989.

Intifada 89 - 4.” Intifada 89 - 4 | PPPA, www.palestineposterproject.org/poster/intifada-89-4.