Keffiyeh

The keffiyeh, also known as a “kufiya”, “shemagh” or “hattah,” is a cotton black and white scarf worn by many Middle Easterners and North Africans. It contains three main patterns: olive leaves, fishnets, and bold routes. The olive leaves represent strength and resilience, and holds cultural significance for Palestinians due to the olive trees having lived and bore olives in Palestine for thousands of years in the land. The fishnets represent Palestinian sailors and the Mediterranean Sea. The bold routes represent the trade routes that cut through Palestine and the long history of cultural exchange. The keffiyeh has been worn by many human rights activists and protesters to protect their faces from being recognized in order to avoid being arrested. Many Palestinians see this piece of fabric as a symbol of their identity and as a mark of their existence.

Spray Paint

Palestinian activists have utilized graffiti to call for human rights and Palestinian liberation along the West Bank wall. Palestinians are able to raise awareness of their protests against occupation and the mistreatment of their people by spray painting works of art throughout the West Bank.

“I PAINT FLOWERS SO THEY WILL NOT DIE” -FRIDA KAHLO

To the artist, this quote holds a heavy weight when it comes to preserving memory and history. Painting flowers so they will not die, is like painting remembrance so that it is something that can never be taken away or erased. Art is a precious tool for storytelling and by painting, therefore the artist hopes to portray her family’s history and demonstrate Palestinian solidarity. She does this by quite literally painting flowers in her pieces or other symbols of natural imagery.

Reading List

If you are interested in doing more comprehensive research on Palestine, we recommend visiting the website, decolonizepalestine.com, which has an extensive list of books and other resources that are split up by category, ranging from history to myth busting and social movements.