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Israeli designer eroticizes the Palestinian keffiyeh

Tanya Habjouqa, a photographer, reported on her Facebook page a few days ago:

Cultural appropriation to an extreme….in a chic Tel Aviv mall, I stopped in my tracks when I saw the Palestinian and Jordanian Keffiyeh fabric filling an entire boutique. Chic sexy dresses, funky flouncy skirts, long hippie draping gowns….minimum cost 150 USD. No sign or explanation of where this material came from. Even my husband stood frozen in alarm, peering in window. It really was too much. Even by the standards here.

Cultural appropriation: Dodo Bar Or, boutique, foto by Tanya Habjouqa
Cultural appropriation: Dodo Bar Or, boutique, foto by Tanya Habjouqa on her Facebook page

We went on to Dodo Bar Or’s site. She is an Israeli designer with stores in Tel Aviv and an international following. Her foto’s at right.

Dodo Bar Or, fashion designer
Dodo Bar Or, fashion designer

Her new line is based largely on the Palestinian keffiyeh, a symbol of Palestinian resistance. Some of the fashions eroticize the keffiyeh. I can’t imagine Dodo Bar Or is considering the sentiments of 20 percent of the Israeli population, let alone the millions under occupation a few miles away. Many are sure to be offended by these clothes.

Palestinian appropriated fashion by Dodo Bar Or, a Tel Aviv boutique
Palestinian appropriated fashion by Dodo Bar Or, a Tel Aviv boutique
Kuffiyeh fashion by Dodo Bar Or, Tel Aviv designer
Keffiyeh fashion by Dodo Bar Or, Tel Aviv designer

 

Kuffiyeh fashion by Dodo Bar Or of Tel Aviv
Keffiyeh fashion by Dodo Bar Or of Tel Aviv
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Not creative, lame, cheesy and sad.

Wouldn,t someone wearing these be likely to be shot on sight by one of Israel,s most moral soldiers.

According to Wiki:
– “keffiyeh” is “… a traditional Middle Eastern headdress fashioned from a square scarf.”
– “Palestinian keffiyeh” is “… a gender-neutral chequered black and white scarf that is usually worn around the neck or head.”

If “(Palestinian) keffiyeh” is the scarf – worn on the head, around the shoulders, etc. – and not just the pattern(s) on fabric, is it really cultural appropriation to use the pattern(s) in Israeli (or even non-Israeli) dresses?

I’m sincerely unclear on the concept.

LOL. I’d have more sympathy if the keffiyeh hadn’t been a fashion symbol in the United States and, apparently, Tokyo, for the last 25 years or so. They’re commonly seen in NYC, where people where them as scarves, and the ones in NYC are doubtless made in the same place most of the rest of them are – China.

For the record, the keffiyeh is not “Palestinian.” It’s a Middle Eastern headscarf, and there are Jews that have worn it. The only people who have appropriated it are the Palestinians, who have attempted to politicize it and make it into a symbol of their national movement. So the notion that someone who designs a dress using the same fabric as an item that has been part of fashion for three decades is engaging in cultural appropriation is total nonsense.

Many are sure to be offended by these clothes.

Let us tip toe gingerly over the delicate Palestinian’s egg shell sensibilities. They can’t even stab Jews any more without being shot dead… they don’t need this extra measure of degradation from the zio-supremacists!