Wow ! What is he wearing !!?
It’s a garment… a scarf ?
It’s a statement… of a people, a graphical history in a garment.
It shows a living history… the wavy shimmer of olive leaves, in the sun – ocean’s swooshing waves, gently welcoming you… a hoisted fishing net, salt shimmering down a warm Mediterranean ocean breeze.
The broad lines show long historical roots, bedded thousands of years back… ancient trade roads, long bearing many different peoples, many traders, farmers, merchants, peacefully coexisting, and prospering there.
It’s all of these, it’s Palestine.
Historically it was initially worn by Bedouin communities, the hearty, nomadic travelers in historical Palestine. It was used then to ‘distinguish’ Bedouins from fixed-location village dwellers.
Resistance to colonization in the 1930s, and National struggles in the 1960s – these all brought the Keffiyeh to a mainstream symbol, and even a practical means of concealing the resister’s identity from the then prevailing colonial regime. Throughout history it retained its historical use for people: it’s clothing, too.
Ultimately the Kuffiyeh is a very functional garment, and a statement of support for a suffering people.
The traditional colors of black and white are best known, and made famous by political figures such as Yasser Arafat.
Other colors are personal choice – Red Kuffiyehs have been associated with Jordanian Palestinians, the large number of Palestinians who escaped repression and persecution by crossing the River Jordan into the country of Jordan. A red kuffiyeh-like garment with a knitted edge is there known as a “Jordanian shemagh” or “Yashmagh,” or “Shemagh,” and generally held as distinct from a Palestinian Kuffiyah.
Green, in turn, is associated by many Palestinians with peace and paradise.
While other parties have attempted to appropriate the garment for their own image, what prevails now is a national symbol, bereft of connection to any one actor or party, befitting of any of the Five and a half million people that constitute the Country of Palestine.
Traditionally there was only one remaining factory in all of Palestine: Hirbawi, in Hebron. This endangered and limited production. Due to short supply, People have waited many months to get a Palestinian-made Keffiyeh.
Now, there are two!
A long shuttered mill has re-started in Nablus, testament to the quality products and industriousness of the Palestinian people : The Nablus Keffiye factory.
Encourage this artform and ensure their future in peaceful endeavors.
What a gift to our conscience to grace these peaceful businesses with some dollar support in a time of great need – to offset those of our other tax dollars, the ones that go there and take the form of weapons to support repression and war.
We are ordering as many of these as we can so you can have some to wear, and some to gift, along with other artisanal and crafts products and books. You can visit us and get these items here :
-As of 7/9/2025 We have a monthly event at Cupertino Flea Market on the First Saturday of Every Month, Space F30, for the next six months. Can’t miss it. Next Event is 8/2/2025 8:00am to 2:00pm. You are Welcome to visit to celebrate and help these people producing beauty and supporting their families with peaceful endeavors in a difficult land. Come explore possibilities with us!
https://www.yelp.com/biz/de-anza-flea-market-cupertino
See Campus map below. Our Space is inside the green heart. The nearest Free parking lot is the Stelling Parking Garage and you can enter it from Stelling Road following the blue line on the map.
Palestinian-American Learning Society, Silicon Valley 