A bit of a confession:

I used to feel uncomfortable wearing a keffiyah (Palestinian scarf).

And today is World Keffiyah Day, so I thought I'd share about the internal shift for me.

Growing up in Jerusalem, to me the Keffiyah was something I associated with t*rrorism 🤦🏼‍♀️

It's embarrassing even writing that.

But that was part of my brainwashing.

In the same way the word “intifada” was something I associated with t*rrorism.

And even once I became aware of the Zionist lies and very much used my voice to speak up for Palestinian lives, I didn't feel comfortable wearing a keffiyah.

Thankfully I had been able to evolve and shed my ignorant understanding of the keffiyah, but I still hadn't worn one.

To me it was something cultural for Palestinians and it felt like appropriation to wrap it around my neck.

The shift happened when I started seeing more & more non-Palestinians wear a keffiyah and I realised just how easy it made it to identify a likeminded ally while out in public.

It was this instant “knowing” that here is someone else who cares for human rights.

I then saw my son wearing his that he had ordered directly from Palestine. And it felt so wonderful seeing him making a statement about who he aligns himself with.

Symbols are such a shortcut to project a message. And the keffiyah bypasses unnecessary explanations.

So I decided it was time to buy myself my own.

And it took a while to arrive from Palestine, so in the meantime I found a couple of second hand keffiyahs on Facebook marketplace.

And man oh man, I should have done this YEARS ago!

The response was so heart-warming.

One of the first interactions I had was on a plane and a woman approaching me with tears in her eyes. She is Palestinian and was soooo thankful to see a keffiyah on board. She had been too nervous wearing hers but pulled it out when she spotted me wearing mine.

Now I make sure to wear one whenever I fly.

(I had every intention of wearing a keffiyah today and sharing a photo but I've been at home waiting for a phone call from Meta…so instead I've decided to share photos I found on my phone.)