"Please update “the scarf,” “cultural cloth,” and “black and white checkered scarf” to simply “keffiyeh,” as it can be deeply offensive to Palestinians and their allies to use reductive terms to allude to the keffiyeh without providing any proper description of it, especially amidst the rise of anti-Palestinian racism."
April 26, 2024
To:
Meredith Bond, Multi-Media Content Creator, CityNews Toronto
Amber Leblanc, News Director, CityNews Toronto
Michael Gibbons, Editor, CityNews Toronto
James Mackin, Editor, CityNews Toronto
Dear Meredith Bond, Amber Leblanc, Michael Gibbons, and James Mackin,
I am writing to express concerns about the article: “MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing a keffiyeh,” published in CityNews Toronto on April 25.
I take foremost issue with your article not providing adequate descriptions of the keffiyeh’s historical and cultural significance for Palestinians.
You refer to the keffiyeh as “the scarf” or “cultural cloth,” while these may seem like innocent descriptors, it is important to know that it has become increasingly common for racist posts online to use similar phrases to demean the keffiyeh and portray it in a negative light.
One sentence of yours describes the keffiyeh as “a black and white checkered scarf.”
“Checkered scarf” and “Black-and-white scarves” are terms extensively used in racist context on social media. On X (formerly Twitter), a search for the phrase pulls up innumerable tweets of far-right individuals, such as this one, this one, and this one, using these phrases in highly racist remarks. The mistake to use these phrases by CityNews Toronto is almost certainly accidental, but we would strongly advise against its use, as it serves as a dog whistle.
According to Middle East Eye, a keffiyeh can be seen by some as Palestine’s unofficial flag, especially after the Nakba and the establishment of the state of Israel. Its modern roots in Palestine go back to the fellah (rural workers) and the Bedouin. It was used to hide someone’s identity during the 1936 Arab Revolt against British colonial rule. In the 1960s, the leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, Yasser Arafat, would always be seen publicly with a keffiyeh and popularized its wear. When Israeli authorities banned the Palestinian flag from 1967 until the 1993 Oslo Accords, the keffiyeh became an expression of Palestinian identity. In the 60s and 70s, during the anti-war movement, students and anti-war campaigners started to adopt it. The keffiyeh became an overarching symbol of anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism. In short, the keffiyeh symbolizes the Palestinian identity, struggle, and resistance.
Please update “the scarf,” “cultural cloth,” and “black and white checkered scarf” to simply “keffiyeh,” as it can be deeply offensive to Palestinians and their allies to use reductive terms to allude to the keffiyeh without providing any proper description of it, especially amidst the rise of anti-Palestinian racism.
Second, you write: “Jama was censured by the Ontario legislature and removed from the NDP after a controversial social media post about the Israel-Hamas war last year.”
To portray Jama’s social media post as merely “controversial” and provide no additional context is unfair. She called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the end to all occupation of Palestinian land. This statement is in line with members of the international community, including the UN, which has been calling for a ceasefire since October 7, and human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, that you mention, that recognize Israel as an apartheid state. Jama was also informed of her removal via email, and there are no appeal processes for when and how people are kicked out of their party.
Please update “after a controversial social media post about the Israel-Hamas war last year” to “after calling for a ceasefire and the end to all occupation of Palestinian land,” as the former words used depict her as an outlier when the majority of civil society and human rights organizations shares her positions.
I hope CityNews Toronto will make these changes and use precise language when reporting on local issues related to Palestine.
Sincerely,
Fatima Haidar,
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East