Faris Odeh

Faris Odeh (; 3 December 1985 ) was a Palestinian boy from the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip who became known as a popular symbol for Palestinian resistance because of a photograph where he is seen throwing a stone at an Israeli tank during the Second Intifada. In November 2000, he was killed by Israeli troops near the Karni Crossing while he was throwing stones at them.

A picture of Odeh standing alone in front of a tank, with a stone in his hand and arm bent back to throw it, was taken by a photojournalist from the Associated Press on 29 October 2000. Ten days later, on 8 November, Odeh was again throwing stones at Karni when he was shot in the neck by an Israeli soldier. The boy and the image subsequently assumed iconic status within the Palestinian movement as a symbol of their opposition to the Israeli occupation.

Involvement in the Second Intifada

When the Al-Aqsa Intifada began in September 2000, Odeh started skipping school to participate in the action, either at the Karni crossing or the Israeli settlement of Netzarim. The headmaster of Odeh's school complained about the boy's absences to his parents who tried, unsuccessfully, to keep him away from the conflict. According to Faris' mother, the boy's father "beat him black and blue for throwing stones." Fayek also tried to physically restrain his son. Once, he locked the boy in his room, but Faris escaped out the window. According to the Post, "The next time Fayek heard that Faris had been at a clash point, he got tougher; he tied the boy's hands and feet together and left him on the roof after dinner. By midnight, his mother, worried sick about the boy, sneaked up to the roof and freed him." Now a famous photograph, the "powerful image of a boy standing alone facing-off a huge Israeli military tank" has drawn the use of the "David and Goliath" analogy by sociologist Judith Bessant. For many Palestinians, she noted, "he epitomised heroic Palestinian defiance and resistance to Israeli military occupation".

Aftermath and death

Odeh's 17-year-old cousin Shadi, a Palestinian policeman, was killed during a confrontation with Israeli troops on 1 November. "When that happened, Faris said, 'I swear I'll avenge his death,'" Anam Odeh told the Post. "He went to Shadi's funeral wreath and placed a snapshot of himself in it. He said the wreath would be for him, too." His mother remarked that, "Faris was a boy who loved me so much [...] His blood is worth so much more." and a symbol of the Second Intifada: "one boy, who dies in a similar confrontation only after the picture is taken, has come to represent [...] thousands of other". Dubbed the "Palestinian everyman" and the "poster boy of Palestinian defiance," for many Palestinians he is a hero, portrayed in graffiti, wall art, calendars and posters. and he was praised by Yasser Arafat in February 2002.

The Faris Odeh activism award has been created in his name, granted annually by Al-Awda: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition (PRCC). The recipient in 2003 was Dr. Salman Abu-Sitta. The photograph, Faris' story and the iconography around it have also subsequently been taken up as a teaching point in human rights and advocacy educational resources.

In the Washington Post interview, his mother said of the image: "When I see his picture my heart is torn to pieces. I guess I feel proud for him being called a hero, standing in front of a tank and all that. But when I see his classmates come around after school, all I can do is cry. […] I'm so afraid that Faris' death will be for nothing. That everything will just go back to normal. And the only thing that happened is that I'll have lost my son."

Wider impact

UPI's photo changed Israeli tank doctrine. In August 2001, The Jerusalem Post quoted an anonymous tank doctrinist saying tank personnel were now instructed to fire upon rock-throwers.

Palestinian shabab (youth) were immortalized by the televised footage on them throwing stones at Israeli tanks during the Second Intifada, according to Barbara A. Goldscheider, who cites Faris Odeh and Mohammed Al-Durrah as examples of two Palestinian boys who became instant martyrs.

To French philosopher Pierre-André Taguieff, the Palestinian response to Odeh's death forms part of a popular political religion revolving around the figure of the shahid, or martyr. He views this as a consequence of the "Islamization" of the Palestinian cause, manifested in Palestinian support for a "culture of death." Odeh's mother told reporters that he used to watch Felesteen-Al-Yawm, the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine television channel, where the idea of becoming a martyr is highly regarded. "He wanted to join them," she said, "and used to wear their headband."