A Keffiyeh is a lot more than a Fashion Accessoire from H&M

By Thomas Steiner. Written on Sun Jan 11 2009. Political

A Keffiyeh is a lot more than a Fashion Accessoire from H&M

Back in November 2008 I was a speaker at the Google Developer Day in Tel Aviv. I had the pleasure to give a presentation on Google Web Toolkit, and for this occasion even learnt some Hebrew, and a little bit of Arab. If in Hebrew you say "hello" (Shalom), you actually say "peace" at the same time. Same applies for As-Salamu Alaykum in Arab by the way. When I was in Israel, I met wonderful people, got to know a high-tech country with an incredibly long history, was amazed by the liveliness of Tel Aviv, and the deep religiousness of Jerusalem…

All this seems so far away from me now, with Israel in war with Hamas. Do the soldiers greet with shalom down from their tanks? People I met in Israel suddenly start switching their profile photos in Facebook, I see pro- and anti-Israel profile pictures fight against each other. Is this the way my generation deals with this "conflict"? Changing Facebook profile pictures? Obviously it is one of the ways, but hopefully not the only one. If you happen to follow this blog, please get an opinion on the war, read the news, watch the sources of each piece of information, and think of the fact that journalists currently are not allowed in the war zone. In war, truth dies first. This phrase has never been more true than in the current situation. If you wear a keffiyeh, be aware that it is a lot more than a fashion accessoire from H&M. Make an effort with me an recall this fact to the 12-year-olds when you see them with their scarfs. Shalom. As-Salamu Alaykum.

Images from amazon.de and facebook.com