Originally used for sun protection in Southwest Asia and North Africa, the kaffiyeh’s function and symbolism have evolved over time. It’s been seen on celebrities like Bella Hadid, worn by students at college protests, and donned by activists at pro-Palestinian marches. It has been sold in mainstream stores and even banned by the Australian state of Victoria, which prohibited its use in parliament due to its perceived political nature.
In recent decades, the kaffiyeh has become widely recognized as a symbol of Palestinian nationalism and resistance. This association predates the current Israel-Hamas conflict, which has claimed the lives of over 40,000 Palestinians since October 7th. Just last week, the Noguchi Museum in New York City prohibited its employees from wearing the kaffiyeh, deeming it a symbol representing “political messages, slogans or symbols.”
For Palestinians, the symbolism of the kaffiyeh can also be deeply personal. “I embroidered my kaffiyeh with tatriz, the Arabic word for embroidery, to express my connection to my homeland,” says Wafa Ghnaim, a Palestinian dress historian and researcher. “This is not just a symbol of resistance to the Israeli occupation but an expression of myself.”
What is the kaffiyeh?
The kaffiyeh is a square-shaped, hand-woven scarf with a checkered pattern and a wavy motif around the border, representing olive leaves, often with tassels along opposite sides. Olive trees, a vital part of Palestinian culture and economy, thrive in Gaza and the West Bank.
Historically worn as an Arab male headdress, the kaffiyeh is now worn by people of all genders and races across Southwest Asia, Northern Africa, and beyond. “There used to be many different patterns, sometimes different colors and designs,” says Haitham Kuraishi, a tour guide at the Museum of the Palestinian People. “But the main idea was to have a scarf that was useful in a hot climate.”
The black-and-white kaffiyeh is most commonly worn by Palestinians and those expressing solidarity with the people living under hardship in the Gaza Strip. However, other predominant colors are popular in other territories. For example, the red kaffiyeh is more prevalent in Jordan, according to Kuraishi.
A clothing item that dates back centuries
The kaffiyeh was first worn by the Sumerians, an ancient civilization dating back to 4500 BCE, in what is now Iraq, according to Kuraishi. The scarf later gained popularity among Bedouins, indigenous people in the desert regions of the Arabian Peninsula, due to its practical uses. “If you were traversing the desert, you could use the scarf to cover your mouth from a dust or sandstorm, and it provided shade,” says Kuraishi. Until the early 20th century, kaffiyehs were primarily worn by Bedouins to distinguish nomadic men from villagers and townspeople, according to Ghnaim.
That changed after World War I when the League of Nations issued a mandate, drafted in 1920, granting Britain control over the territory then known as Palestine. This mandate also called for the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people,” fueling tensions in the region. The subsequent unrest culminated in the Arab Revolt of 1936-1939, marking the first “intifada,” a call for Palestinian sovereignty and independence, says Kuraishi.
“Palestinian men donned the kaffiyeh, not just on their head but around their neck, almost as a uniform,” adds Ghnaim. The kaffiyeh thus became a symbol of solidarity, uniting working-class Palestinians with the upper class, who typically wore a fez.
Prominent figures also popularized the scarf in the years to follow. Former President of the Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat, who graced the cover of TIME magazine with the kaffiyeh in 1968, was known for wearing it in a triangular shape that resembled the outline of Palestine, Ghnaim says. In the 1960s, Leila Khaled, a “revolutionary” and leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, also wore the kaffiyeh. “Her move of wearing it on her head as a woman, like a hijab, garnered significant attention and widespread popularity worldwide, particularly within the Palestinian community and diaspora,” adds Ghnaim.
Recent adoption
The scarf has re-emerged in the fashion world several times in recent decades. In 1988, the same year the Palestine National Council declared the State of Palestine following a staged uprising against Israel, TIME reported on the scarf’s adoption by the American public. At the time, TIME reporter Jay Cocks noted that the kaffiyeh, once a “garment of choice among the political protesters and antimissile advocates of the ’70s and early ’80s” had become “politically neutral.”
That notion doesn’t hold true today. In 2007, the New York Times reported that kaffiyehs were marketed as “antiwar” scarves by Urban Outfitters, though they were later removed from stores “due to the sensitive nature of this item.”
Today, many Palestinians recognize that while the checkered scarf is a symbol of resistance, it’s also inextricably linked to their cultural heritage.
“While other Arabic-speaking nations might have a similar pattern or design, [the kaffiyeh] doesn’t have the added meaning of resistance against occupation and invasion that it does amongst Palestinians,” says Kuraishi. “Palestinians will wear it for weddings or graduations, not just protests—for both good times and bad.”
