If You Like the Keffiyah Wear the Israeli Version
I have no problem with Americans wearing a keffiyah, a headcloth designed for a desert environment (1) to protect the wearer from dust, sand and heat, if they are in fact in the middle of a desert; however, since that filthy desert skunk, Yasser Arafat, made the keffiyah a symbol of Palestinian terror, I do find it offensive if worn in an urban environment.
I realize that most Americans have no clue who Arafat was or that the scarf represents murderous savages and so we have instances where TV personalities don the item and American companies inadvertently place it in their advertising, see my article Rachael Ray and the Perception of Islam.
A reader recently emailed me a question asked by a young Toronto girl who would like to wear a keffiyah but wondered whether it would offend others (2). The answer is: yes, it is offensive unless worn while perambulating the sands of an Arabian oasis.
To all you uninformed infidels: We. are. at. war. with. Islam. Muslims know it. So-called Palestinians know it. Our top military brass knows it. Obama knows it (but won't admit it), al qaeda knows it. The only people who do not know it are leftists, self-loathing Jews, and other clueless morons.
But to answer those who want to both make a fashion statement and avoid offending the rest of us, there is a solution: consider the Kaffiyah Y’Israelit, pictured above, a headscarf sporting the repeated pattern of the Star of David in Tekhelet blue, the color of God’s Glory (3) which may be purchased here [I do not receive any compensation for sales of this product].
Of course I should warn my readers that wearing any keffiya in public could be dangerous - imagine that you are in a public place such as a marathon, for example, and bombs go off. Wearing a terrorist symbol may subject you to sudden mob retaliation.
As usual, Palestinians have gotten their turbans in a twist over the Kaffiyah Y’Israelit claiming that Zionist designs on their national symbol is nothing less than a theft of their heritage (4). But just as they lied that Arabs were in Palestine before the Jews, here too, they lie: The Hebrew keffiyeh, called the sudra, was mentioned in Jewish holy books thousands of years ago (5) and were worn by Jews since ancient times until the Muslim conquests when Jews were forbidden to wear them (6).
ENDNOTES
(1):
SurvivalCach, Shemaghs, A Survival “Must Have”
When I deployed to the Middle East, I found that all the locals in country would wrap their headsShemagh Headdress in cloth, to cover their faces and/or heads. Even on relatively nice days, these people would cover their faces while the rest of the American soldiers would not. I thought to myself “Well, they must be onto something here.” It was only during a power outage in our living area that I discovered why. When the lights were out, I turned on my flashlight and discovered that there was a pretty significant amount of dust illuminated by the beam of light, and it didn’t strike me as a particularly windy or dusty evening.
This prompted me to order a “shemagh” which, as many of you may know, is a traditional Middle Uses for ShemaghEastern headdress used for ages to protect the wearer from blowing dust, keep the sun off the neck, head and face, and as a wrap for warmth on cold desert nights. Once I learned how to tie it around my head properly, which is not a difficult task with a little research on the Internet, this became one of my regular pieces of equipment. If the dust kicks up suddenly, I would put it on. This prevented the sand from finding its way into my nose, mouth, and ears. While it will not eliminate it all, it certainly helps significantly. In this type of environment, use should obviously be accompanied with goggles.
(2):
Yahoo Answers, Kafiya Scarf. Can i wear it?
Yesterday i bought a kafiya scarf (purple) because i thought it was very practical and beautiful and i was unaware of it's political significance or even it's name. when i came home, my mom informed me about it and i did some research and now im a bit nervous about it. I really love my scarf and i want to use it but at the same time i don't want to offend anyone or get into trouble. I live in Toronto (outskirts), im 15 and i look exactly like my avatar. I have no connection to the middle east and the issues that are going on there. Do you think it's okay to wear it? Please help me out here! :S
Update 1: I guess what i'm asking is, would you (if you had an opinion on the issues of the middle east) be offended if i wore it out?
(3):
The Encyclopedia of Jewish Symbols - Ellen Frankel, Betsy Platkin Teutsch - Google Books, Page 22
According to several rabbinic sages, blue is the color of God’s Glory. Staring at this color aids in meditation, bringing us a glimpse of the “pavement of sapphire, like the very sky for purity,” which is a likeness of the Throne of God. (The Hebrew word for glory, kavod, means "blue" in Arabic.)
(4):
Israel National News, 3 Nov 2010, PA Angered by Israeli Keffiyeh
Palestinian Authority Minister of Culture Siham Barghouthi said Tuesday that his ministry is investigating what he called Israel’s theft of “Palestinian heritage.”
”Palestinian culture must be preserved by organizing exhibitions and festivals to show that heritage claimed by Israel is actually Palestinian!” Bargouthi claimed in an interview with Ma’an Radio. "Palestinians" have often been asked to show what they claim their non pan-Arab heritage, since before the declaration of the state of Israe, the word "Palestine" or "Palestinian" referred to Jewish institutions, such as the "Palestine Post" and the "Palestine Philharmonic" and there was no Arab group calling itself by that name.
Barghouthi specifically mentioned the blue and white “Israeli keffiyeh” with a Stars of David pattern worn in Israel and on American university campuses by activists from the Zionist Freedom Alliance. The PA minister called the scarf a “Palestinian national symbol” and attacked Zionists for usurping the keffiyeh and replacing its traditional pattern with Zionist symbols.
(5):
Wikipedia, The Hebrew 'Keffiyeh'
The sudra is believed to be thousands of years old and referenced to in the Bible. Ancient Hebrews used to wear a headgear that was similar to either a keffiyeh, turban or a stocking cap. As such, there are many ways of tying the fabric to make these different designs. The Sudra has been mentioned directly and indirectly in many of the ancient religious texts of Judaism including the Babylonian Talmud. Varius targums or translators have interpreted different words in the Book of Ruth to be 'the keffiyeh of the Jews'. In Jewish tradition, the sudra was a twisted scarf worn around the neck. There is also evidence of Jews wearing the sudra on their heads like a keffiyeh or turbin in the Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Berakhot.
(6):
Ibid., The Hebrew 'Keffiyeh'
There are numerous reasons why sudras have fallen out of favour with modern Israelis & Zionists. According to one unnamed pro-Israel activist, "In ancient times, it was common for Jews to wear keffiyot, but the conquest of the region by Islamic tribes brought with it a series of laws that gave non-Muslims an inferior position in society. Synagogues could not be built higher than mosques and Jews could not ride atop animals for fear that they would appear higher than Muslims. As the keffiyeh came to be seen as the crown of the Arabs and its wearer was attributed an honorable status, non-Muslims were forbidden from wearing such garments.”
