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| The '''Palestinian keffiyeh''' is a gender-neutral chequered black and white scarf that is usually worn around the neck or head. The Palestinian keffiyeh has become a symbol of ], dating back to the ]. Outside of the Middle East and North Africa, the keffiyeh first gained popularity among activists supporting the Palestinians in the conflict with Israel and is an icon of Palestinian solidarity. | The '''Palestinian keffiyeh''' is a gender-neutral chequered black and white scarf that is usually worn around the neck or head. The Palestinian ] has become a symbol of ], dating back to the ]. Outside of the Middle East and North Africa, the keffiyeh first gained popularity among activists supporting the Palestinians in the conflict with Israel and is an icon of Palestinian solidarity. | ||
| The wearing of the keffiyeh often comes with criticism from various political factions in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The slang “keffiyeh kinderlach” refers to young left-wing Jews, particularly college students, who sport a keffiyeh around the neck as a political/fashion statement. This term may have first appeared in print in an article by ] in which he writes of “the suburban-exile kaffiyeh kinderlach of Berkeley, more Palestinian by far than the Palestinians” in their criticism of Israel. While this political use is generally associated with the left wing, European activists have also worn the keffiyeh.<ref>{{cite book |title= A History of Modern Germany Since 1815|last= Tipton|first= Frank B.|year= 2003|publisher= Continuum International Publishing Group|page=598 |isbn= 0-8264-4910-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title= Racist Extremism in Central and Eastern Europe|last= Mudde|first= Cas|year= 2005|publisher= Routledge|page=34 |isbn= 0-415-35594-X}}</ref> | The wearing of the keffiyeh often comes with criticism from various political factions in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The slang “keffiyeh kinderlach” refers to young left-wing Jews, particularly college students, who sport a keffiyeh around the neck as a political/fashion statement. This term may have first appeared in print in an article by ] in which he writes of “the suburban-exile kaffiyeh kinderlach of Berkeley, more Palestinian by far than the Palestinians” in their criticism of Israel. While this political use is generally associated with the left wing, European activists have also worn the keffiyeh.<ref>{{cite book |title= A History of Modern Germany Since 1815|last= Tipton|first= Frank B.|year= 2003|publisher= Continuum International Publishing Group|page=598 |isbn= 0-8264-4910-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title= Racist Extremism in Central and Eastern Europe|last= Mudde|first= Cas|year= 2005|publisher= Routledge|page=34 |isbn= 0-415-35594-X}}</ref> | ||
Revision as of 19:04, 22 July 2014
The Palestinian keffiyeh is a gender-neutral chequered black and white scarf that is usually worn around the neck or head. The Palestinian keffiyeh has become a symbol of Palestinian nationalism, dating back to the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine. Outside of the Middle East and North Africa, the keffiyeh first gained popularity among activists supporting the Palestinians in the conflict with Israel and is an icon of Palestinian solidarity.
The wearing of the keffiyeh often comes with criticism from various political factions in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The slang “keffiyeh kinderlach” refers to young left-wing Jews, particularly college students, who sport a keffiyeh around the neck as a political/fashion statement. This term may have first appeared in print in an article by Bradley Burston in which he writes of “the suburban-exile kaffiyeh kinderlach of Berkeley, more Palestinian by far than the Palestinians” in their criticism of Israel. While this political use is generally associated with the left wing, European activists have also worn the keffiyeh.
While Western protesters wear differing styles and shades of keffiyeh, the most prominent is the black-and-white keffiyeh. This is typically worn around the neck like a neckerchief, simply knotted in the front with the fabric allowed to drape over the back. Other popular styles include rectangular-shaped scarves with the basic black-and-white pattern in the body, with the ends knitted in the form of the Palestinian flag. Since the Al-Aqsa Intifada, these rectangular scarves have increasingly appeared with a combination of the Palestinian flag and Al-Aqsa Mosque printed on the ends of the fabric.
In 2006, the Prime Minister of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero gave a speech in which he criticized Israel harshly, then accepted a keffiyeh from members of the audience and had his photo taken wearing it.
In 2007, the American clothing store chain, Urban Outfitters, stopped selling keffiyehs after “a pro-Israel activist… complained about the items”, and the store also issued a statement that “the company had not intended ‘to imply any sympathy for or support of terrorists or terrorism’ in selling the keffiyehs and was pulling them”. Caroline Glick, deputy editor of the Jerusalem Post, equates the Palestinian keffiyeh with the fascist wearing of brown shirts.
Now these dogs are starting to wear it as a trend
No matter how they design it, no matter how they change its color
The keffiyeh is Arab, and it will stay Arab
The scarf, they want it
Our intellect, they want it
Our dignity, they want it
Everything that’s ours, they want it
We won’t be silent, we won’t allow it
It suits them to steal something that ain’t theirs and claim that it is.
— Shadia Mansour, "al-Kūfīyah ʻArabīyah (The keffiyeh is Arab)"
British-born Palestinian hip-hop rapper Shadia Mansour denounced cultural appropriation of the keffiyeh, defending it as a symbol of Palestinian solidarity, in her first single, "al-Kūfīyah ʻArabīyah ('The keffiyeh is Arab')." She performs wearing a traditional Palestinian thawb and proclaims in her song: "This is how we wear the keffiyeh/The Arab keffiyeh" and "I'm like the keffiyeh/However you rock me/Wherever you leave me/I stay true to my origins/Palestinian." Onstage in New York, she introduced the song by saying, "You can take my falafel and hummus, but don't fucking touch my keffiyeh."
See also
References
- Tipton, Frank B. (2003). A History of Modern Germany Since 1815. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 598. ISBN 0-8264-4910-7.
- Mudde, Cas (2005). Racist Extremism in Central and Eastern Europe. Routledge. p. 34. ISBN 0-415-35594-X.
- “Spanish Minister Objects – Says Criticism of Israel Not anti-Semitic” International Herald Tribune, July 20, 2006
- US chain pulls ‘anti-war’ keffiyehs | Jerusalem Post
- No Tolerance for Genocide, By Caroline Glick, Jerusalem Post, August 2, 2002
- Andersen, Janne Louise (September 4, 2011). "The Passion, Politics and Power of Shadia Mansour". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 15, 2014.