Blue Cord

According to the Associated Press, Dunkin’ Donuts has pulled one of their TV ads which featured Rachael Ray. In the ad, Ms. Ray is shown hawking iced coffee while wearing a scarf that has a paisley pattern  resembling a popular style of kaffiyeh. The ads were pulled because some conservative commentators, such as Michelle Malkin, complained that kaffiyehs were “pro-Palestinian jihad and anti-war” and claimed the kaffieyh partakes of “violent symbolism and anti-Israel overtones” She has accused supposed anti-American fashion designers of popularizing the scarves, which she refers to as “hate couture”.

I have never heard of Michelle Malkin before. A quick perusal of her website suggests that she comes from that class of opinion mongers who deal primarily in sophistry. But whatever else she may be, she is certainly ignorant about kaffiyehs.

Kaffiyehs are ubiquitous in the Middle East. They are an immensely practical and versatile garment. They are worn by most men, with the exception of those who have adopted Western style dress. Christians, Jews, and Muslims all wear them, although they are less prominent among Israelis. The only reason some people in America identify them with the Palestinian struggle is because most Palestinians wear kaffiyehs. But kaffiyehs long predate the founding of the modern state of Israel and the beginning of the Palestinians resistance.

Most kaffiyehs are white with red, black, or green designs on them. The colors are the Pan-Arab colors that were used in the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire in World War I (assisted by T.E. Lawrence, who wore a kaffiyeh). Palestinians are more likely to wear the black design, while Jordanians prefer the red.¹ The King of Jordan, an ally of the US, is often seen wearing a red kaffiyeh. The green kaffiyehs are usually only seen draped over caskets, as green is the symbol of martyrdom.

Some in the US during the 70’s and 80’s did try to turn the black kaffiyeh into a symbol of solidarity with the Palestinians.  They were only moderately successful, and today the kaffiyeh is mostly viewed as simply a fashion item. Most people wear them without intending any kind of political statement. And even if the kaffiyeh was always intended as a statement of support for the Palestinians, that is not the same thing as expressing support for terrorists. I support the Palestinian people, but do not condone terrorism.

In an article with the risible title “Mainstreaming Terrorism to Sell Donuts”, someone at ????????Little Green Footballs states:

Of course, the fact that terrorists and terror sympathizers explicitly say that the kaffiyeh is a symbol of Palestinian “resistance” doesn’t get in the way of their ignorant mockery.

The number of things wrong with this statement is legion. First, terrorists don’t claim that the kaffiyeh is a symbol of Palestinian resistance. It is some American’s who have tried to turn it into that. Second, voicing support for Palestine does not make one a “terror sympathizer”, no matter how much the author of that article may want to imply guilt by association. And third, just because a small number of Palestinians supporters claim that it is a symbol of Palestinian solidarity does not make it so. If someone wears a kaffiyeh to show support for Palestine, then for them it is a symbol of solidarity. If they don’t have that intent, it isn’t. And in no case is it a sign of support for terrorism. Ms. Malkin and the people at Little Green Footballs don’t seem to be able to distinguish between the Palestinians and a tactic employed by a small percentage of them.

If symbols worked the way these people claim, then any non-soldier who wore camouflage pants would be automatically supporting the Iraq War. While some people may wear camouflage to show their support for the war, I suspect that the majority of them simply have no fashion sense.

Of course, one could also criticize the cowardice being shown by Dunkin’ Donuts in pulling their ad because of meaningless complaints. Just because some Philistines want to politicize deep-fried dough does not mean the company has to allow them to do so. After all, one would think that selling millions of bagels a year would be enough to insulate them from the charge of being anti-Jewish.

1. I personally own a red kaffiyeh, which I bought in Jordan. I wear it when I work on archaeological digs in Jordan. [back]

I went to a very enjoyable cookout today to celebrate Memorial Day. The decorations and food had followed a patriotic theme, as was appropriate for the day. The cupcakes had white icing and red and blue sprinkles, while each napkin had a picture of the U.S. flag on it.

Here is my problem: Isn’t it dishonoring the flag to wipe your mouth on it? And how am I supposed to dispose of the napkin? Do I have to burn it?

One of my hobbies is flag collecting. Although this may sound like a remarkably boring hobby, for me it is a way to connect with the places I have visited (or in some cases places where my friends have visited). My one rule is that the flag must come from the location it represents. I either buy a flag when I visit a place (which can be a bit of a challenge) or I ask friends to bring me one when they go somewhere. And if the flag comes with a story, that makes it even better. The flags I collect are the full size flags.

I have just added a new flag to my collection, and I must say this one holds a place among my favorites. It is the red and white flag of the opposition in Belarus. You may have seen this flag on the news last Spring when Belarus was having its elections. It is illegal to posses this flag in Belarus. I can’t even reveal where I got this flag because it might get the person in trouble, but I will say it was not given to me by one of our students.

The flag originally was originally designed for the Belarusian National Republic, which lasted from March 25, 1918, to January 5, 1919. It was declared during World War I but quickly came to an end when the Soviets invaded. It was also the official flag of Belarus from 1991-1995, but was replaced by the current flag in a controversial referendum.

I have a couple of other flags in my collection that are out of the ordinary. Another one from Belarus is the Soviet period flag of the Republic of Belarus. Another Belarussian friend brought me this flag. It was owned by her uncle who apparently got it in trade for a bottle of vodka. My Uzbekistani flag was brought to me by one of our students. It is the official one that the government hands out to be flown on government buildings (although this one accidentally has the stars on upside-down). Another special European flag is my Ikurrina flag that is used by Basque separatists. It was brought to me by a fellow theologian who visited Catalan.

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