It’s World Keffiyeh Day, and in the little city town of Beacon, this is being greatly celebrated by the Palestinian restaurant, Ziatun on Main Street. Owner Kamel Jamal’s sister, Khitam (who used to go by Kate and reverted back to her Palestinian name last year after Palestine was particularly annihilated in the escalated conflict with its occupier Israel last May), contacted ALBB to spread the word that the keffiyeh scarf, which started as a farmer’s scarf for protection against the sun but was adopted as a resistance scarf to occupiers, was being celebrated today, May 11th.

You can buy keffiyeh scarves at Ziatun, or order online at Handmade Palestine, who still has a factory in Palestine. Many Palestinian businesses are destroyed or strangled by Israeli forces by way of cutting off water or electricity or limiting shipments, so supporting local business in Palestine matters.

Says Kamel about what the keffiyeh means to him: “Every day the keffiyah means something different. Today the keffiyeh means ‘unapologetically Palestinian’”

The Embassy for the State of Palestine - South Africa, commemorated World Keffiyeh Day with this statement: “Today is World Keffiyeh Day, a global movement to bring awareness and show solidarity with the Palestinian cause and struggle. The commemoration educates the world about the ongoing occupation of Palestine, by wearing a Keffiyeh. #FreePalestine #KeffiyehDay #worldkeffiyehday”

While there is an embassy and many official records recognizing Palestine, Kamel says that sometimes people walk into his restaurant, take a look around at his homages to his homeland of Palestine, and then tell him that Palestine does not exist. He shared this reality in passing the other day while sauntering down the sidewalk with ALBB after giving us a tour of the new building he just bought (!!!). “People come in and tell me that Palestine doesn’t exist. They ask why we show it on the walls.”

It’s a confusing statement to receive, as Kamel was born there and left at the age of 2 when his family was sponsored by a friend to come to America. Listen to his podcast here to learn all about it. But in online reviews for Ziatun, there was a person who left a bad review because they were so offended by the Palestinian decor. They stated that they preferred Israel only for that region. Israel is generally viewed as an occupier of Palestine, who encroaches on Palestinian land over the years.

While some people may prefer for Arab people to disappear, as we saw with the slice and dice treatment of Arab-owned Key Food Beacon in the series of mis-steps and entitlement they endured at the hands of a customer, legal system, local newspaper, possibly Beacon Police, and a complete dismissal by Beacon’s current City Administrator, Arabs are not going anywhere. Obviously. They would just prefer that if you were going to enjoy their authentic food, that you stick up for them a little bit.

Palestinian Journalist Murdered By Israeli Forces On World Keffiyah Day

In an unexpected and tragic turn of events, Al Jazeera Arabic’s iconic journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, was shot in the head today while covering the current escalation in the West Bank. Word has been spreading to Western media outlets, as outrage in social media swells. Especially after the New York Times ran the headline of her simply having “died.”

According to fellow reporters who were with her, as reported by Al Jazeera: “We were four journalists, we were all wearing vests, all wearing helmets,” Hanaysha said. “The [Israeli] occupation army did not stop firing even after she collapsed. I couldn’t even extend my arm to pull her because of the shots being fired. The army was adamant on shooting to kill.”

During Ramadan as Muslims prayed at Al-Aqsa Masque in Palestine/Israel, journalists released videos of themselves being shot at as they tried reporting on Muslim people praying at that mosque being dragged away by Israeli forces. A source to find those videos is Muslim Daily on Instagram.

As reported by Al Jazeera, here is a background on Shireen:

“Abu Akleh, who was a dual Palestinian-American national, was one of Al Jazeera’s first field correspondents, joining the network in 1997.

“Grief and sorrow filled the Al Jazeera offices in downtown Ramallah as the news quickly spread and dozens of colleagues, fellow journalists, friends, and Palestinian figures poured in, including Palestinian politicians Hanan Ashrawi and Khalida Jarrar.

“Palestinian MP Khalida Jarrar said that Abu Akleh was the voice of Palestinians and was killed by ‘the monstrosity of Israeli colonialism and occupation’.

“Shireen was always my voice from the prison cells,” Jarrar told Al Jazeera, adding that a month into her last detention by Israel, Shireen was the first person she saw at her court hearings.”

Last year at this time, Al Jazeera’s Gaza building was blown up by Israel military.