Palestine and the Jaffa Orange

Hey, hi, hello, and welcome back to the We Were, We Are memorial quilt for Palestine. This square is for a symbol once tied to sweetness, abundance, and home. Today we have Palestine and the Jaffa orange.

Palestine and the Jaffa Orange

The Jaffa orange is a variety of orange that has few seeds and a tough skin that makes it more sturdy for exporting long distances.

Before 1948, the groves around the city of Jaffa were famous around the world. Families tended rows of trees heavy with blossoms in spring, filling the air with their fragrance, and harvested oranges so bright, sweet, and juicy they became Palestine’s pride. Crates of Jaffa oranges traveled across Europe and beyond, carrying the name of the port city from which they set sail. For Palestinians, the orange was more than fruit—it was livelihood, community, and a taste of home.

After the Nakba, much of that land was taken, and what was once distinctly Palestinian became branded as Israeli. Yet the memory of the Jaffa orange endures. It is a symbol of what was lost, but also of what continues to live on in story, taste, and memory.

The Jaffa Orange and We Were, We Are

If you’ve been following along, you’ll notice how each square, whether it’s the flag at the center or the watermelon, holds a feeling of resilience. The Jaffa orange, too, holds that thread: it speaks of displacement, but also of roots that remain, deep and unbroken.

This square is just one piece of a much larger story. You can see the whole quilt and the meaning behind it in my post We Were, We Are.