Kaffiyehs, caps and inadequate coverage

I get sick of people trying to tell me what "my" symbols and choices "really mean." First you have all these people telling me that my hijab is a symbol of oppression, when I not only willingly chose it but had to fight for the right to wear it. Now someone is trying to convince the world that everyone that wears a keffiyeh is showing support for terrorism. I have been amazed this week to see all the coverage in the media and blogs about Rachael Ray wearing a fake keffiyeh in a Dunkin Donuts ad, and their subsequent pulling of the ad.

Personally, I feel a little sorry for Dunkin Donuts. The last thing any company would want to do is make a political statement that will adversely affect their sales. They had to decide whom they stood to lose more from, the radical Christian Zionists or the pro-Palestinian people. It's a lose-lose situation for them. It's the people like Michelle Malkin et al who offend me, for trying to equate every expression of Palestinian nationalism as a threat to world peace. But as much as I would have loved DD to have stood against the pressure and resist this stupidity, I am not surprised they decided to try to cut and run.

Now there is a plan to boycott Dunkin Donuts. I understand the desire to "teach them a lesson" with the boycott, but it is more like an attempt to punish rather than an attempt to teach. And people usually resent those who try to punish them for their unintentional mistakes. IMHO I think more would have been accomplished by publishing some fact sheets about Palestinian culture and history, and mailing them to members of the DD board and executives and handing them to the DD employees while buying some donuts! How do you expect people to respect and sympathize with you when you are busy threatening their livelihood? We are never going to be able to beat the world into submission, but we can show them reality and appeal to their consciences.

The kafiyya has been used as a symbol of Palestinian national pride and resistance for years, but what I find most ironic is that these days in Palestine, it seems to be becoming a symbol of Fatah. My son used to wear one when the winter was cold, but this year he refused to because people on campus see it as a sign of support for Fatah and Mahmood Abbas against Hamas. You know, the guys American and Israel see as the "good Palestinians" the "partners in peace." The ones that were supposed to win the election. (My son, like DD, would prefer not to make any political statements with his clothes. I think he hates all the politicians equally.) Actually, I commented to my family that when I was in Ramallah one cold day last winter, I thought there was a lot less men with kafiyyas around. It used to be that all the older men wore them when it was cold. They weren't amazed by my brilliant powers of observation, but whatever.

You know the folks the US and Israel consider the big, bad, boogie men terrorists? Yes, the Hamas followers. Do you ever see those guys wearing keffiyehs at their rallys? No, those guys wear green baseball caps.Even the women sometimes wear green baseball caps.
They look just like the John Deere hat my Gran'pap used to wear sometimes. Wait! You don't think he was secretly a Hamas supporter?
And these kids, what other reason could they have for wearing green hats in a Saint Patty's day parade?

Uploaded by P.J.S. on 5 Aug 07, 3.20PM PDT.

And the Okland A's better change their away uniform caps before Michelle Malkin decides they are secretly supporting Hamas.
(Hey, John Deere folks, don't be mad at me. I am actually thinking of getting the game in the picture above for my son who loves every sim and tycoon type game.)

Actually the thing that pisses me off the most about this whole business is how much publicity it is getting. Have you heard of the situation of the Hebron orphanages and schools that Israel is trying to shut down? No? Because it is getting very little press, but it is much more serious. There is an Islamic charity in Hebron (al Khalil) that was founded before Hamas, but the Israelis say it is a "Hamas charity." This charity runs 2 orphanages, 3 schools, a library and it has commercial properties to support the schools and charities including a couple bakeries and a dairy. The Israeli authorities say they don't want Palestinians to be "grateful" to Hamas for providing these important services, so they have issued orders to close them down and evict all the people and businesses. To top it all off, they say they have a right to confiscate all of the property! They have shut down the bakeries and some of the businesses, who rented from the
charity. They raided the sewing workshop connected to the girls' orphanage at 1 AM, and stole the sewing machines, fabric and supplies. They cut up the tables to get them out the door. They even took the silverware from the kitchen! Some members of the Christian Peacemakers Team in Hebron have been staying in the orphanage and they filmed the raid. They are trying to prevent the orphans from being thrown out on the street. Seriously, how do the Israelis think this will make them more secure? Won't the kids who go through this trauma be **more likely** to be pushed into violent resistance?

The only place I have seen this covered in the mainstream media is one report on a BBC domestic radio station. There is nothing about it in print on their website that I saw or on the World Service (the international radio). You can hear the report here or go to http://hebronorphans.blogspot.com/ for more info.

Isn't this the sort of thing that we should all be blogging about????

It's a sad world. Innocent kids are going hungry in Gaza, sitting without lights and being denied health care. Orphans in Hebron are at risk of losing the roof over their heads and the food on their tables. But everyone is in an uproar about Rachael Ray's paisley scarf.