Posted May 23 2008 by Tzioni
Terrorist Chic
A few days ago I noticed a strange sight on subway platform. A young man waiting for the train was wearing a scarf, which was not so strange given the weather. But this was no ordinary scarf; it was an Arab kaffiyeh. And the young man was no Arab; he was a NY hipster. Apparently the kaffiyeh, the trademark garment of late Palestinian Arab archterrorist Yasser Arafat (ימח שמו וזכרו), is now in vogue.
Some argue that there is no connection to Palestinian Arab terrorism and the kaffiyeh, since the kaffiyeh has been around for centuries and is merely an Arab cultural symbol. Indeed, the kaffiyeh far predates the very idea of a Palestinian nation, but since the late 1960s, it has become the symbol of the PLO and its “struggle” (aka terror war) against Israel. To argue that it does not carry these ugly connotations is just about as disingenuous as arguing that the swastika is not an anti-Semitic symbol because it is an ancient symbol used by various cultures in history. Sadly, many people are simply unaware of the implications of this new fashion trend, and worse yet, many others have come to identify with the “Palestinian struggle” against Israel.
Many celebrities have been sporting the fashion kaffiyeh. In a recent example, Rachael Ray can be seen wearing one in this Dunkin Donuts ad: https://www.dunkindonuts.com/aboutus/BreakfastChoices (*UPDATE- see comments for Dunkin Donuts’ response. I applaud them for their prompt and considerate reaction. )
Other examples include Kirsten Dunst, who appeared last year in Teen Vogue Magazine wearing the “Breezy Global-Chic Scarf.”
Then of course there’s the (in)famous photo of Ricky Martin wearing a checkered kaffiyeh with a picture of “Palestine” and the sentence “Jerusalem is ours” written in Arabic. The pop star later apologized, claiming, “I had no idea that the kaffiyeh scarf presented to me contained language referring to Jerusalem, and I apologize to anyone who might think I was endorsing its message.” (Uri Dan and Dave Mangan, “Arab Fan Slips Ricky a Tricky,” NY Post, 7/26/05.)
And DNC leader Howard Dean was seen wearing a black-and-white checkered kaffiyeh on his 2004 campaign trail. And lest you think it’s only the Democrats, here’s Republican nominee John McCain’s daughter sporting the terrorist scarf: http://gawker.com/5003288/mccain-daughter-dons-islamic-terror-scarf .
And in the despicable tradition of co-opting Holocaust imagery to promote the Palestinian Arab cause, one Dutch retailer recently distributed postcards with pictures of Anne Frank wearing the kaffiyeh.
The website www.LittleGreenFootballs.com, run by Charles Johnson, has been very outspoken about this alarming fashion trend. Last year it pointed out that Delias.com was marketing the kaffiyeh as the “Peace Scarf.” After much criticism, the store changed the item’s name to the “Euro Scarf,” but the kaffiyeh still appears in its online catalog.
Urban Outfitters also received criticism from LGF and concerned customers last year when they sold the kaffiyeh as the “Anti-War Woven Scarf.” The cover of their Spring Accessories catalog featured someone wearing this ironically-named scarf. (Click here too see this photo.)
In response to the complaints it received at the time, Urban Outfitters removed the item from their catalog, along with the picture. However, as of this posting, the kaffiyeh is still available from their website as a “Houndstooth Desert Scarf.” A similar design is available as a “Coin Fringe Square Scarf.” These seem just about as deceptively named as clothing store Alloy’s “Riviera Scarf.”
But despite the growing ubiquity of this repugnant fashion trend, there is something that we can do about it. Most clothing stores provides email addresses or online forms through which we can voice our protest. Remember, these are businesses, and bad publicity is bad for revenues. Just today, Urban Outfitters removed another anti-Israel item from their shelves – this time, a t-shirt – due to the efforts of a few individuals.
The shirt, which is produced by the company Freshjive and which is still being sold by Amazon.com and a number of other clothing retailers, featured three Palestinian Arab children holding AK-47s, a Palestinian flag, and the word “Victimized.” The word about this grotesque item spread via Facebook, with a couple groups: “Has Urban Outfitters Gone Too Far?” and later “Boycott Urban Outfitters.” LittleGreenFootballs was then alerted to the issue by a reader who had seen these groups and posted a blog entry about it. Hundreds, or perhaps even thousands, of activists then bombarded the store with complaints and the store promptly removed the item from its catalogue.
A few individuals CAN make a difference. But the best way to overcome this alarming fashion trend is through education. We must explain to people the awful message they are conveying when they wear the kaffiyeh. Some will inevitably wear it anyway, but others might be horrified to learn that their fashion statement is really a political one.
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20 Comments currently posted. 
DD Customer Service says:
Ezra Butler says:
I am just slightly confused about 1 thing:
The palestinians are being victimized by their own country - no?
Kaffiyeh girl says:
Gadi Ian,
Besides Israel what other middle eastern country have YOU been to?
Let’s try 0.
The kaffiyeh is a garment of clothing worn in the middle east for centuries. It is not a Muslim garment, and certainly not the symbol for Palestines.
Speaking of misperception, you yourself have a common misperception of what religion is, and what culture is.
Why are you not able to separate religion from culture. Wearing the Kaffiyeh has nothing to do with acts of terrorism.
Here goes another yingerman, taking to the extreme the ideals and connotations of terrorism. It is because of mesh****** like you that can’t decipher culture from religion that people will read this article and gather nonsense.
Fact #1: Arabs come believe in different religions. JUDAISM, Christianity, Islam, etc.
Fact #2: Jewish Arabs in North Africa have been known to wear the Kaffiyeh.
Fact# 3: There are many middle eastern countries that have a similar garment, including ISRAEL, just different colour.
Fact# 4: You ruined someone’s advertisement campaign simply because you are insecure about a scarf. Nice job! *insert sarcasm*
Fact# 5 This site likes to censor people so I wouldn’t be so shocked if my comment was taken down.
Kaffiyeh girl says:
Last comment. I will make a difference, by wearing the Kaffiyeh to my JEWISH school to prove to you, that ashkenazim are THE most ignorant Jews alive. Kaffiyeh does not represent terrorism. It is a garment from the middle east. It protects you from heat and it has been worn for centuries. I actually have a black and red one at home. So now what? Will I be saying Allah Akbar any time soon? NOPE
Kaffiyeh girl says:
I went to look at the picture
http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/23854823.html#comments
And it is a scarf. It isn’t even a kaffiyeh. So there goes the point of this article.
Also, I have some slipper from China, Oh my do I support an evil republic? Shame on me!
Gadi Ian says:
KG,
Thanks for your thoughtful comments. With regards to “Fact #4,” I thank you for attributing such influence to Jewneric. Personally, I’d have given the credit to Charles Johnson and Michelle Malkin — neither of whom are Ashkenazi Jews — whose websites have given this issue most of its exposure.
As I pointed out in my article above, I am aware that the kaffiyeh has a history apart from the Palestinian Arab “resistance” against Israel. However, the swastika also has a long history apart from its use as a symbol of Nazism. That doesn’t negate the connotations such a symbol has in our society today.
There is an ongoing debate over this fashion trend and its political connotations. For a good illustration of this debate, see the NY Times article about it last year: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/fashion/shows/11KAFFIYEH.html?ex=1328850000&en=33690a9ac38eccf2&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all
Indeed, the kaffiyeh is still used by many in the Middle East to protect themselves from heat and sand. My profound apologies to all those hipsters merely trying to protect themselves from heat and sandstorms in the Village!
David Gertler says:
Did Jewneric ever censor anyone? I mean other than blocking phishing posts and links (which might actually be how Dunkin Donuts responded, but that’s not relevant since their comments were).
Dave Weinberg says:
We don’t censor comments unless they have abusive or derogatory language. If the comments are censored, they are done so in communication with the original poster, who is then allowed to repost.
We actively remove spam and irrelevant comments.
Thanks for helping us to build an open discussion Gadi and Kaffiyeh girl!
Kaffiyeh Girl says:
There is a difference from someone who is blatantly putting out offensive anti -semitic nonsense, and someone who is just living their life.
I am pretty sure, Hitler and Yasser Arafat would have both agreed that these hipsters just like the aesthetic appeal of the Kaffiyeh and aren’t in anyway trying to promote the injustices of the Palestinian Israeli conflict.
Now please don’t take offense, but you remind me of the Jewish Al Sharpton. Must you make something so diminutive seem like a civil rights movement?
Indian people still use swastikas at their weddings even while living on American land. Are you going to try to ban that as well?
All I am trying to say is, if you are going to stand for a cause, allow it to be a profound one. I am more offended by Israelis being blown up than by someone named Rachel Ray wearing a scarf that looks like a Kaffiyeh but isn’t.
Learn to pick your battles dear.
Kaffiyeh Girl says:
Thanks Gadi for liking Fact # 4. To write fact # 4 took me about the same amount of time it took for you to write your article
Jen says:
The Palestinians are the vicitimized ones. Last I checked throwing rocks to defend yourself was not a form of terrorism. It deeply saddens me that there is such uproar about a scarf rather than the civilians being killed on both sides of the war. It also deeply saddens me at everyone’s lack of education; like kiffiyeh girl said previously, it’s cultural. To everyone else, pick up a book and expand your mind and mindset.
Dave Weinberg says:
Jen, are you kidding? Rock throwing youths are not worth focusing on. Worth focusing on: Bomb-laden men and women who walk into a crowded malls and blow themselves up killing and maiming innocent civilians. Worth focusing on: Masked me who launch poorly designed missiles into calm neighborhoods while hiding behind soccer-playing children. How would you like it if while you are buying a shirt at the gap, someone walked in and blew themselves up?
Nancy says:
STOP HATING BECAUSE PALESTINIANS ARE FINALLY GETTING RECOGNIZED!! The “hata” (arabic name) is a beautiful Middle-Eastern symbol and now an amazing fashion trend, everyone i know owns one; you should probably get yourself one too, ..Peace in the Middle East!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FREE PALESTINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gadi Ian says:
Jen,
Last I checked, hurling a stone through a moving car’s windshield can and has killed and seriously injured the people inside that car. A stone is no less deadly than a bullet in such circumstances. But apparently the 1st “intifadeh” propaganda images have worked their intended purpose on you, so I will also point out that the Palestinian Arabs do not only use rocks in their “resistance” against Israel; they’ve moved on to suicide bombings and guns. The t-shirt I mentioned in this article depicted three Palestinian Arab children wielding AK-47s. Did you mistake these for rocks? Funny looking rocks.
So yes, the Palestinian Arab children on those t-shirts have been victimized, both by their leaders who have forced them into becoming child soldiers, and by this cheap t-shirt maker who exploited their image to make a few bucks. But NOT by Israel.
As for your other comments, clearly you missed the point of the post; it is precisely because we are outraged by the killing that we are outraged by this new fashion trend. You say it’s merely “about a scarf,” but you’re ignoring the very real political connotations this type of scarf carries.
Gadi Ian says:
Nancy, thanks for demonstrating my point: that the kaffiyeh is more than a simple garment, but a symbol of solidarity with those whose slogan is “Free Palestine.”
kaffiyeh says:
I think it is important to stick to the topic at hand.
My point is that actions are more powerful than symbols. And taking offense to something that might or might not be offensive is ridiculous.
I have no problem with you saying a swastika is offensive and shouldn’t be worn by celebrities. But let’s say celebrities start wearing an imageof a window, with four square connected. Now from a far it might look like a swatiska but up close it isn’t. Should you cry anti-semite for such an image? I think not!
I am just as hurt when a Palestinian child dies as much as I am hurt when a jew gets blown up. Because the point is a life is taken away. A life that HaShem created. A life that had a purpose.
Yasser Arafat… Allow me to introduce Exhibit A
http://focusonjerusalem.com/111706f.jpg
Now I have seen a lot of chassids in my day and age wear something similiar. OMG I have come across self hating JEWS?
Um.. no… I haven’t. Clothing is clothing. If Yasser Arafat wears something it doesn’t mean it is a symbol.
If you do want to make a positive movement. Then learn to take something that is evil and force it to become good.
kaffiyeh says:
Rachel Krich says:
It is very interesting to read comments posted by people who are obviously intellectually brilliant but not fashion savvy. It is not disputed that the kaffiyeh is a long standing cultural garment worn by Muslims around the world. It is also a fact that those Muslims who are brain washed into thinking that by killing innocent children they will get to Heaven also ware these scarfs. Here is the question…..WHEN did the scarfs become popular? BEFORE the connection to the bombings or AFTER? IF someone can prove to me, with a source from a FASHION source (because the fashion industry is pushing this, not the NYT) that prior to the first Intifada these scarfs were JUST as popular in the US then I will say that its just another cultural fad and we should all get over it.
However as someone who has been pretty up to date on fashion trends for the past 10 years or so I am rather confidant that the kaffiyeh is a relativly recent American fashion piece (I do recall seeing them pop up about two or three years ago before this current wave)
While the discussions are interesting, and heated one just needs to understand fashion better to see that this is in fact something that has become popular BECAUSE of the terrorists not despite them. Its not out of the blue “we love this aspect of Muslim culture” don’t be nieve. The scarf did not become popular in Western Fashion until Terrorists were seen on TV with them. So every other argument, while interesting and educated is mute because no one seems to grasp to sociology of the fashion industry. You think people in urban outfitters are saying “oh I am so interested in buying this scarf that is full of history and culture”? I don’t think they are, I think they are just getting it because its cool to get it, and those who put it on the market only did so because they thought they could cash in on the popularity of the terroists and the confilct it causes.
And HONESTLY can you say that a true Muslim is HAPPY that some idiot stoner in the Village is wearing his holy scarf? Yeah Right. Its an insult to all Muslims, just as much as the terrorists are also insulting their heritage.
So you can have all your philosophical debates about this all you want but in the end they only became popular when terrorists on TV wore them….THEREFORE they represent Terror when worn in an Western Fashion context.
Iconia» Blog Archive » Is Rachael Ray a Terrorist? says:
[...] [Boston Globe] From donuts to a keffiyehs–is Rachel Ray destined for trouble with the Israel lobby? Jeffrey Goldberg has this stunt picture of Ray with a “costume change” to “any future Middle East-related wardrobe malfunctions.” Ed Brayton over at Dispatches adds another Photoshop gag. This is just the latest in a series of stories like Urban Outfitters’ anti-war scarf (see here). [...]
Tzioni says:
Palestinian Arab cultural center accuses Israel of stealing the kaffiyeh!
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=32394
Dunkin’ Donuts Consumer Response to Rachael Ray Advertisement:Thank you for expressing your concern regarding the Rachael Ray advertisement. In the ad that you reference, Rachael is wearing a black-and-white silk scarf with a paisley design that was purchased at a U.S. retail store. It was selected by the stylist for the advertising shoot. Absolutely no symbolism was intended. However, given the possibility of misperception, we will no longer use the commercial.