From the New York Times:
A Jewish D.J. in Brooklyn finds himself defending his right to market what he calls an “Israeli remix of the keffiyeh,” featuring the Star of David.
An article last week in the Abu Dhabi newspaper The National compared the effort by Jewish hipsters like Erez Safar to claim the keffiyeh for themselves as just the latest in a series of battles over symbols of Middle Eastern culture whose appropriation by Israelis has enraged Arabs. The National’s report began like this:
First it was the hummus war. Then it was the tabouleh war. Now get ready for the keffiyeh war.
By contrast, an article on the new version of the scarf in The Jerusalem Post began:
It might be considered by some as a symbol of Palestinian ‘resistance’ or solidarity, but for a group of young, hip U.S. Jews, wearing a keffiyeh — especially one with blue embroidered Stars of David — is just as much their right as anyone else’s.
Mr. Safer, the D.J., is based in Brooklyn. He told the Israeli newspaper his company had gotten “some negative comments” when they started selling the blue and white “Israeli Keffiyeh,” which features a Hebrew slogan — “Am Israel Chai,” meaning “The Nation of Israel Lives” — as well as Stars of David. “We have had some Arab friends take offense to our new scarf remix,” he told the paper. Mr. Safer, who performs under the name Diwon, added:
We have some Muslim rappers who have taken part in our Hip Hop Sulha series, which is a Jewish and Muslim reconciliation concert series featuring hip-hop groups from around the world. We are having a concert in February, and one of the performers has actually backed out because of these scarves.
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