Seems like the Streisand Effect is at play here. I never would have noticed a watermelon as a political symbol if they hadn't reacted this, i would just think it's a bit of whimsy. Now tons of people are reading about it

I would say it's well known among activists, and outside that community, it's only a little known. It's probably about on the level of sunflowers being used as a symbol for support of Ukraine. It's nowhere near as well-known as Winnie the Pooh being used as a symbol of protest against Xi Jinping.

As many said, it's common knowledge if you've been generally knowledgeable about the colonialism from the 80s and/or if you've been informed because of the current escalation of the genocide.

Israel has had a "military rule" (administratively, judicially, and physically) over a good chunk of Palestinian lands since 1967 (other than what was colonized already). Under military rule law, even the Palestinian flag could put a child in administrative detention (prison with abuse) for an indeterminate amount of time (months to years).

To circumvent the oppressive rule, Palestinians took up the watermelon 🍉 which has the green, black, red, and white of the Palestinian flag.

Never heard of it before.

No.

“I don’t know if that’s the point of the discussion,” Farber said.

It's not, but it is related to a far more important one.

The current discussion is if a watermelon pin is appropriate attire for a professional. The larger, more important discussion is "What causes are appropriate for someone to publicly support?", and further "Who gets to decide what causes are approved?"

It is, they're just evil.