The bus from Tivon to Nazareth takes less than 30 minutes and cost 11 ILS (about 20 SEK). The other day I went there on my own just to wander the market streets of the Old City for a while and to do some shopping. Last time I was there with Yoram I saw a keffiyeh-like shawl that I for some reason never bought, but never found anywhere else, so now I had to go back for it. I found the store with the shawls and was quickly out with a bunch of keffiyeh's in different colours.
In Sweden and in other countries of the Western world the keffiyeh has become a fashion item. However, it still has a strong symbolic value of Arab nationalism in general, but Palestinian solidarity in particular. It has also become tightly associated with the extreme left, with their notorious anti-Israeli incitements and anti-Semite tendencies. However, just because Yasser Arafat constantly wore a keffiyeh, does not make it exclusive to him and his cause. The keffiyeh has been used in the Mideast by both Arabs and Jews since ancient Mesopotamian times.
Yemenite Jew in the early 20th century
wearing keffiyeh wrapped like a turban.
Hence, I bring unique keffiyeh's home to Malmö to give to friends that I know like them. I also wear them myself. They are beautiful and cosy and deserve to be reclaimed from the people that exploit them as a symbol of hate and segregation.
Nazareth is an Arab town with mostly Muslims in spite of its Christian heritage. I walked the narrow streets listening to the adhan (call for prayer) from the nearby mosque and I was watching all the people I met. There were religious women in hijab as well as extravagant ladies swaying by on high stiletto heals and wearing very exposing clothes, and I thought to myself in how many Arab countries you would see that multifariousness and freedom of expression. Unfortunately Arabs do experience discrimination in the Israeli society, I will not deny that, but not nearly as much as Jews living in Arab countries do, and when it comes to women's rights I do not think I need to say much about the situation in many Arab countries. Why do you never hear the leftist "freedom for the people"-fighters protest against the theocratic dictatorships in Syria or Yemen or Iran or Sudan, or Gaza for that matter?
I proudly wear my keffiyeh in support for freedom and justice for all people in the Mideast, not against Israel or the Jews. Reclaim!
2 comments:
... och jag har köpt nâgra häftiga hakkors. Folk tror ju att det är en Nazisymbol, men i själva verket är det¨en mycket äldre symbol än sâ. Det var bla en lyckosymbil i slutet av 1800-talet och efetrsom jag är lycklig tycker jag att det passar...
Ironin dryper.
Jag har väldigt väldigt svârt att förstâ att nâgon som bor här gâr omkring med palestinasjal. Ingen tänker pâ att den engâng burits av bâde judar och araber, pâ samma sätt som att hakkorset faktiskt en gâng symboliserat nâgot annat.
Kram ändâ ;)
Jag förstår absolut att du känner som du gör, och du är heller inte ensam om det, även om jag tycker att jämförelsen med hakkorset kanske inte är helt balanserad. Palestinasjal är dessutom ett tragiskt missvisande namn som troligtvis bara används i Sverige och Norge
Här i mina trakter bor Judar och Araber om vart annat, man gör affärer med varandra och vi umgås till och med (?) privat med både Judar och Araber. Ingen lyfter nämnvärt på ögonbrynet om jag bär någonting som relaterar till Arabisk kultur. Precis så som det borde vara...
Kram på dig med!
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