Speaker of the Ontario Legislature: The keffiyeh “symbolize[s] solidarity with Palestinians”
On May 6, 2024, CTV reported:
Keffiyehs will once again be allowed into Queen’s Park after the Speaker of the Ontario Legislature announced a partial reversal of the controversial policy that created deep political division and barred some from entering the building.
The Arab headdress will still not be allowed inside the chamber itself, where debates between MPPs take place.
On Monday, Ted Arnott sharply explained the reasons behind the policy and lamented the politicization of the issue before partially revising the decision which, he said, has become “so controversial.”
[…]
Arnott first banned the keffiyeh, a black and white checkered scarf typically worn in Arab cultures and often used to symbolize solidarity with Palestinians, earlier this spring.
Arnott decided it was a “political statement” and therefore violated the strict rules that stop MPPs from using props or clothing to send a message while sitting inside the house.
In his latest statement on the situation, Arnott said he never implemented a “blanket ban which singles out only the keffiyeh” but instead was enforcing the existing rules of the legislature.
NCCM: The Keffiyeh is a symbol of “Palestinian cultural identity”
On April 18, 2024, the National Council of Canadian Muslims posted on X:
Banning the keffiyeh from the Ontario legislature is another sign that Palestinian identity is being attacked today, including in our halls of power. Premier Ford (@fordnation) did the right thing to point out that such an act further divides the people of Ontario and needs to be reversed.
We also thank @MaritStiles and @BonnieCrombie for supporting the right to wear a kaffiyeh. We urge the Speaker to move swiftly and do the right thing.
On May 6, 2024 NCCM posted on X:
MPPs in Ontario are defying the ban of the Palestinian keffiyeh scarf. They choose to stand against a racist and unfair ban that targets Palestinian cultural identity. Tag your local MPP to ask them to join the growing defiance against the ban at Queen’s Park. It is time to stop this nonsensical policy.
Protesters against the keffiyeh ban: “Viva Intifada”
On June 4, 2024, thekufiyyaproject posted on Instagram:
Today is the day!! There will be a historic reveal of a giant hand-made Kufiyya, at Queens Park at 4 pm. At 4:30 pm, there will be a speech made about the action, a collectivve poetry reading with @poetryforpalestineto , followed by a moment of silence for Palestinians who have been killed during the genocide. Sumudna choir @protestchoirtoronto will break the silence with a song. This is the second largest Kufiyya in history (the largest having been in Historic Palestine), and the largest hand-made Kufiyya. Through large-scale art, we combat the vilification and censorship of solidarity with Palestinians.
Our municipal, provincial, and federal leaders have not acted to stop Israeli genocide and apartheid over Palestinians. They have also only been attempting to censor Palestinian solidarity through decisions like the Kufiyya Ban, and other attempted precedents for suppression of our human right to freedom of expression. Additionally, the government still does not officially recognize the ongoing Nakba which started in 1948. In response, multiple communities have co-created this giant kufiyya.
The magnitude of what it takes to create this art and rally with it demonstrates the widespread solidarity within Toronto for Palestinians. There is a very large and growing number of people who are demanding the end of Israeli apartheid and end the genocide. The size of this art action also affirms our dedication to end the Zionist genocide over Palestinians, end the military occupation of the West Bank, as well as end the Israeli apartheid.
Demands:
– Lift the Kufiyya Ban
– Sanction Israel (full dipomatic, economic, military sanctions by all levels of government)
– Acknowledge the 1948 Nakba and ongoing Nakba
END THE GENOCIDE!
See you there.
#community #together #united #singing #poetsofinstagram #catsofinstagram #summer #historic #artproject
On June 4, 2024, lsolomoniannd posted on Instagram:
Powerful day. Unveiling a massive keffiyeh covered with names of martyred children and healthcare workers, and Palestinian poetry. Calling for a lift of the keffiyeh ban at queens park. An arms embargo. And clean water and restitution in Grassy Narrows. The struggle for liberation on Turtle Island and Palestine are inextricably linked.
Beautiful song by @protestchoirtoronto
Powerful words by many, including a Palestinian nurse with @ha4palestine
Someone had dropped a braid of sweet grass, so after consulting with someone wiser than I, I placed it on the memorial to the children murdered in the residential school system at the base of the enclosed statue of John A. Macdonald … supposedly my ancestor. From Turtle Island to Palestine. The sign on the enclosure feels highly ironic given the times.
@thekufiyyaproject
On June 4, 2024, protestchoirtoronto posted on Instagram:
The second largest Kufiyya in history. The largest kufiyya outside of Palestine. We disturbed MPP meeting today at Queens Park with our rally. We also joined forces with Grassy Narrows @grassy.narrows.solidarity who were doing a sit-in and just served Doug Ford.
From Turtle Island to Palestine, Liberation is intertwined.
Ontario: Lift the Kufiyya Ban. Sanction Israel. Give proper compensation to Grassy Narrows. Clean up mercury poisoned water.
On June 4, 2024, Pro-Palestinian activists protested in front of Ontario Legislature (Queen’s Park) against the Keffiyeh ban chanting “Viva Intifada.”
The keffiyeh symbolizes the armed struggle against Israel
Wafa, the official new agency of the Palestinian Authority, Accessed on May 5, 2024 (originally in Arabic):
Palestinian keffiyeh Day
On November 16 of every year, our Palestinian people and their educational institutions in the homeland and diaspora commemorate the Palestinian keffiyeh Day. This is based on a decision taken by the Ministry of Education in 2015 to consider this day a national day in which all students, school principals, teachers, and employees wear the keffiyeh, raise Palestinian flags, and sing national and popular songs. Many scouting and sporting activities are organized there. So that our emerging generations, wherever they may be, remain connected to the symbols of Palestinian national identity to be a day to feel freedom, to connect our students to the past, present and future, and to enhance their authentic national awareness.
Wearing the black-and-white Palestinian keffiyeh was associated with the 1936 revolution against the [British] Mandate and the Zionist gangs. The men of the revolution wore them so that the eyes of the occupation and agents would not recognize them. They asked the general public to place it so that the occupation would not distinguish the men of the revolution from among the general public after the occupation began arresting the revolutionaries wearing the keffiyeh.
The Palestinian keffiyeh accompanied the late President Yasser Arafat until the last day of his life. It was our symbol of the contemporary Palestinian revolution. During the Stone Intifada and Al-Aqsa Intifada, the keffiyeh appeared with momentum again, as participants in the events wore it. Thus, it transcended all geographical borders to become a symbol of the just cause of Palestine throughout the world.
Felesteen, the official newspaper of the Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas, November 18, 2021:
[…]
The keffiyeh is considered one of the symbols of the Palestinian struggle/fight and resistance. It gained widespread fame during the Palestinians’ resistance to the British occupation, as it became part of the official dress of the Palestinian revolutionaries in their revolution in 1936 after they decided to dispense with the turban and tarboosh and mislead the Mandate authorities by having all revolutionaries and fighters wear the keffiyeh and the headband, so they wouldn’t be able to identify and arrest them. The fighters (fedayeen) were covering their entire faces and heads with it, with only their eyes visible. This act enraged the British soldiers, which prompted them to arrest and kill everyone who wore the keffiyeh. The Palestinian people stood as one man and decided that everyone should wear the keffiyeh to cover up the fighters (fedayeen) and mislead the army. Even women joined them. Therefore, their plan failed to reach the fighters (fedayeen), and the keffiyeh’s status increased in the hearts of the Palestinians, c and making those who wear it feel dignity and courage.
[…]
The keffiyeh became significant primarily with the appearance of the military spokesman for Al-Qassam [Brigades], Abu Obeida, wearing his red keffiyeh, while announcing the victories of the Palestinian resistance during the aggressive Israeli wars in the Gaza Strip.
Al-Jazeera, November 17, 2015 (originally in Arabic):
On National keffiyeh Day, which coincides with the 27th anniversary of the proclamation of the Declaration of Independence, thousands of Palestinian students wore the keffiyeh as an expression of their adherence to it as a symbol of freedom and identity, after the Ministry of Education approved an annual day to celebrate the keffiyeh, which accompanied the late President Yasser Arafat until the last day of his life.
The image of the Palestinian was associated with the keffiyeh, which has become a symbol of Palestinian unity. It is also known as the silk or the hatta, with its black and white colours. It reflects the simplicity of peasant life in the villages of Palestine, as well as the earthy colors of the peasants’ clothing there, far from the different and alienated colors of city life.
The Palestinian farmer used to wear the keffiyeh to dry his sweat while plowing the land and to protect him from the heat of summer and the cold of winter. The name of the keffiyeh has been linked to the national struggle since the 1936 revolution in Palestine, where the revolutionary peasants wore the keffiyeh to hide their features while fighting/resisting British imperialism in Palestine, with the aim of avoiding being arrested or being reported to.
Then the people of the cities put it up by order of the leaders of the revolution at that time. The reason was that the British began arresting everyone who wore the keffiyeh on his head, thinking that he was one of the revolutionaries. So the task of the British became difficult to arrest the revolutionaries after all the youth and elders of the village and the city put it on.
The keffiyeh was a symbol of the struggle/ fight against the British Mandate, the Jewish immigrants, and their gangs, and it continued to be a symbol of the revolution to this day, passing through all stages of the Palestinian national struggle. With the outbreak of the contemporary Palestinian revolution in the second half of the 1960s, the keffiyeh was associated with the guerrilla fighter, like his weapon. The main reason for wearing the keffiyeh was to hide the features of the guerrilla fighter.
Since that time, the keffiyeh has been associated with the peoples of the world with the name of Palestine and the struggle of its people. This association became stronger during the first intifada in 1987, all the way to the second intifada in 2000, and until now the fighters still wear the keffiyeh for the same reasons and the same liberation goals for which the revolutionaries put it in 1936.