Easily verifiable historical facts really do matter to WE STILL SURVIVING Indigenous peoples planet-Earth-wide! Europeans AND Arabs are NOT Mesopotamian NOR Canaanite in “indigenous” ancestry!!! Easily verifiable historical facts matter, EXCEPT to those who are successfully assimilated into European and Arab settler Colonialism! BOTH Europeans AND Arabs have ZERO inherent rights to wear our SWANA Indigenous peoples’ shemagh and kufiya as THEIR cultural items!!!
It is the inherently racist European and Arab colonial game of erasing Indigenous peoples’ living presence upon our sacred lands. They do this by distorting and restating history in a way that makes them, the settler Colonialists, the new ancient “indigenous” people of the lands they have colonized for Colonial Allah and Christ ruling dominionism. And they do this by appropriating our Indigenous cultural items and claiming them as their own!
On both Colonial America 🇺🇸 and Colonial Palestine 🇵🇸, we Indigenous peoples watch in FRUSTRATION as Europeans and Arabs wear our cultural items for their political social Conquistador causes! A perfect example of this is the so-called “Palestinian kufiya” or, alternative pronunciation, the so-called “Palestinian keffiyeh”! It is NOT Colonial Palestinian!!!
Pan-Arab nationalist “Palestinians” 🇵🇸 have ZERO right to APPROPRIATE our Shemagh/Sudra for their pretend “indigenous” status upon a land they COLONIZED – our Southwest Asia Indigenous peoples’ lands 🪬🇮🇱☀️🇱🇧🪬 !
“The Kūfīyah (كُوفِيَّة, kufiya) has deep roots that stretch back centuries in the Levant [Mesopotamian] landscape. Etymologically, the word “Kūfīyah (كُوفِيَّة, kufiya)” is a derivative of the name of the city of Kufa in Iraq, meaning “from the city of Kufa.”
As such, its roots could be traced back to ancient Mesopotamia (c. 3100 BCE), when people living within the Tigris and Euphrates River system used to cover their heads to protect themselves from the elements. Its usefulness in the desert climate later percolated into every society across the diverse communities of the region.
With its roots traced back to Mesopotamia, the head covering in Iraqi culture, particularly the shemagh (شُمَاغ šumāġ), carries various nuances, ultimately signifying prestige and status. Legend has it that the Sumerian fishermen, seeking protection from the scorching summer sun, ingeniously placed a fishing net on their heads, evolving over time into a distinctive headgear with its own unique name.
The shemagh (شُمَاغ šumāġ), with its fisherman’s net design, water lines, and fish shells, is considered a talisman, believed to ward off evil even today, maintaining a connection to its Sumerian origins. Later worn by priests and kings who adorned white clothes and a black net made of sheep’s wool symbolizing a fishing net, this headdress gradually merged with the shemagh (شُمَاغ šumāġ), known in the Iraqi dialect as the “Yashmagh.”
Over time, the Yashmagh transitioned from being an accessory of the ruling and sacred elite to becoming the most popular headdress in Mesopotamia and its neighbouring regions. It became an integral part of the cultural identity, symbolizing prestige and status for individuals across various [Southwest Asian] communities. Each community adopted the wearing of the Kūfīyah (كُوفِيَّة, kufiya) with their own interpretation and twist to it. In fact, until the turn of the 20th century, communities of all faiths [meaning, indigenous ethno-religions] and tongues from the region sported the Kūfīyah (كُوفِيَّة, kufiya).
Thus, the iconic black and white Iraqi shemagh ([Arabic:] شُمَاغ šumāġ, [in indigenous Aramaic: ܫܘܡܼܐܓ – See 1 below]), also known as Yashmagh, Ghutrah (غُترَة), Cheffiyeh (چِفّية), and Jamadani / Jimidani [AND, SUDRA (Hebrew: סוּדָר sudār, Aramaic: סודרא suḏārā), our Jewish name for OUR Levantine version of the shemagh (Westerners are ALWAYS trying to erase us from this picture!!!)], serves as a living testament to this rich heritage, transcending geographical boundaries and becoming a symbol of cultural identity for the Palestinian people [see 2 & 3 below] in their struggle against British occupation since the 1930s.”
1 – Like our Jewish people’s Canaanite Hebrew language (עברית, ivrīt), the Southwest Asian language of Aramaic is STILL a living language also! The two most known forms of Aramaic are Jewish Babylonian Aramaic (ארמית, ˀərāmiṯ) and Classical Syriac (ܐܪܡܐܝܬ, arāmāˀiṯ[a]). While Canaanite Hebrew is a Southwest Asian Semitic language of Canaan, Aramaic is a Northwest Asian Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, southeastern Anatolia, Eastern Arabia, and into the Sinai Peninsula.
2 – Who are the British-pan-Arab post-WW1 declared “Palestinian people” of the British-Arab Mandate for Colonial Palestine? They are: Jews, Kurds, Lebanese, Syrian, and greater Mesopotamian survivors of “Arab”/”Islam”ization by previous southern Arab Caliphates’ ☪️ invasions and survivors of “Christian”ization by previous northern Byzantine/Frankish ✝️ invasions.
3 – Sadly, the masses of Arab settlers that arrived after the Hashemite Caliphate ☪️🇵🇸 invasion with the British and French ✝️🇬🇧🇫🇷 during WW1 and during the 3 decades British-pan-Arab military rule upon their established Colonial “Palestine” are also considered “Palestinians” by the European and Arab Conquistadors’ colonized nations. In fact, since the 1964 post-WW1 Arab settlers’ formal adoption of the Colonial name “Palestinian” 🇵🇸 , there has been a concerted worldwide effort to ERASE the presence and identities of our SWANA Indigenous peoples and to REWRITE the history of our Southwest Asian North African region by the United Nations ☪️🇵🇸🇺🇳🇺🇸✝️ of Arab-European Colonial nations!
They WILL fail, for we Indigenous peoples 🪬🇮🇱☀️🇱🇧🪬 will NEVER be fully uprooted ✊🏼💪🏼✌🏼 !
“Traditionally crafted from cotton and wool and worn by Bedouins and villagers in the Ottoman-controlled Levant Arab region, the Kūfīyah (كُوفِيَّة, kufiya) evolved into a symbol of class struggle embedded in the psyche of the local people much BEFORE the Arab-Israeli conflict. While the affluent upper and middle-class Arabs embraced symbols of Ottoman style like the “Tarbush” or “Fez,” individuals from modest backgrounds favoured the Kūfīyah (كُوفِيَّة, kufiya). Many Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the Levant, such as in [Colonial] Palestine [aka, the historic Land of Israel 🕎🪬🇮🇱🎗️] and Iraq [Kurdistan 🪬☀️🪬], chose the Kūfīyah (كُوفِيَّة, kufiya) to mark their authentic local connection, setting themselves apart as “sons of the soil” within the Ottoman [empire] and later [within] British-controlled [Mandatory colonial] Palestine.” – The Markaz Review, Literature and Arts from the Center of the World, 3 March, 2024
“History must be redeemed for it to be true, and curiously, it begins with etymology, defined as a branch of linguistics, investigating name/word histories. I am perplexed. Someone, please elaborate on how 🤔 a Middle Eastern land is referred to as “Palestine,” originally in the Egyptian hieroglyphics as pwrꜣsꜣtj Peleset, transliterated into ancient Hebrew, P’léshet פְּלָשֶׁת precise ancient Hebraic definition of this adjective from the primitive root verb is “pelesh, dividers, penetrators” or “invaders.” ??? Then P’léshet entered into Koine Greek as Παλαιστίνη (Palaistínē, “Philistia and the surrounding region”),to the Latin Palaestinae (Philistia), and finally the Anglicized Latinized modernized “Palestine.” ” – Zarayah Israel
“These observations extended beyond concerns of mere appropriation, delving into complex questions about whether such usage inherently disrespects the political and historical context associated with the Kūfīyah (كُوفِيَّة, kufiya). This prompts the inquiry of whether the donning of the Kūfīyah (كُوفِيَّة, kufiya) for a cause by non-SWANA Indigenous peoples, like Arabs and Europeans] today constitutes cultural appropriation [Hell, yeah!!!] or transforms the Kūfīyah (كُوفِيَّة, kufiya) into a broader global symbol of freedom and liberation.
[A “broader global symbol of freedom and liberation” for who? The European and Arab settler Colonialists who occupy our Southwest Asia Indigenous peoples’ lands, claiming to be the new “indigenous” for colonizing? Or is the Kufiya still a symbol of SWANA Indigenous peoples’ resistance to European and Arab settler Colonialism and freedom fighting for the liberation of our Southwest Asia sacred lands?!]
In the wake of escalating global Islamophobia post-9/11, the West has unabashedly associated the Kūfīyah (كُوفِيَّة, kufiya) with symbols of terrorism and animosity [thanks to USSR created and funded terrorists groups like the PLO in the 1960’s]. Amidst ongoing protests and demands on both sides, since the recent clashes starting October 7th, 2023, [meaning, Arab PALESTINIANS, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Palestinian-Islamic-Iranian Hezbollah attempted a mass genocide upon SWANA indigenous Israelis] there has been a growing trend of anti-Islamic sentiments directed at individuals wearing the Kūfīyah (كُوفِيَّة, kufiya), contrasting with the comparatively unscathed acceptance of the blue and white flag [What acceptance?!! Liar!!!].
This situation prompts a crucial question, perhaps the most critical question of all: Does the black and white kerchief exclusively symbolize the cause (liberation from suffering and struggle) of a specific faith community in [Colonial] Palestine [aka, the Southwest Asia Indigenous peoples’ lands of Israel and Kurdistan]? [By “faith community”, do you mean occupying Colonial Islam, Rajrupa Das?]
In conclusion, the Kūfīyah (كُوفِيَّة, kufiya) continues to transform beyond geographical and material constraints, prompting questions about its meaning and global significance. Much like the watermelon [a tasty NON-indigenous fruit grown by SWANA natives – thus ANOTHER settler upon our Jewish and Kurdish peoples’ lands, but only peacefully so, unlike the European Christian and Arab Muslim Conquistadors! The watermelon having become], a symbol echoing the [1917 created pan-Arab Hejaz Colonial] Palestinian flag, the Kūfīyah (كُوفِيَّة, kufiya) has [- due to post-WW1 European-Arab militarized occupation of Jewish and Kurdish people’s lands -] ventured into new realms of expression.
Despite restrictions on its use in political rallies in the West due to perceived ‘provocative imagery,’ [What restrictions, liar?!!] it persists in evolving [like a Colonial religious theology or Colonial political ideology settler virus – think Christianity, Islam, and Marxism], finding alternative channels like tattoos and henna for its continued expression.” [This is why SWANA Jewish ethno-religious law forbids permanent tattoos and limits henna tattoos to that which is Indigenous ethnic!] – Rajrupa Das, a proud Kolkata native, is a dedicated museum professional with a Master of Letters in Dress and Textile Histories from the University of Glasgow.
Tal the Iraqi Jew wears the indigenous shemagh that pan-Arab nationalists appropriated for their racistly violent Palestinian cause! ✊🏼 Indigenous Lives Matter ✊🏼 Listen to Mesopotamia indigenous people explain how racist pan-Arab “Palestinian” colonisers 🇵🇸 got their appropriated fishnet kufiya/keffiyeh! You’ll find their words to match our native Jewish/Israeli people’s words.
Arab “Palestinians” 🇵🇸 are the direct equivalent of “white” European colonisers 🇺🇸🇬🇧🇫🇷🇪🇸 – they are settler occupiers upon Southwest Asia’s indigenous lands and appropriators of SWANA Indigenous peoples’ cultures! As you read this post, these pan-Arab nationalists are expanding into Africa and Europe. Understand THIS, Arab “Palestinians” 🇵🇸 have no – NONE, ZERO – actual roots in our SWANA peoples’ sacred lands!
Their flag 🇵🇸 was invented in 1917 down South in Hejaz, Arabia, for the Hashemite royal Arab family, by the British 🇬🇧, so that they may conquer Southwest Asia’s Jewish and Kurdish peoples’ lands during World War 1 – in order to divide our SWANA Indigenous peoples’ lands into the post-WW1 European established Arab Colonial nations of Transjordan 🇵🇸 (now, Jordan 🇯🇴), Syria 🇸🇾, and Iraq 🇮🇶.
What they were not counting on was native Jews 🕎🪬🇮🇱 resisting to such a resolute degree that we actually FORCED the British 🇬🇧 off our land and decolonized in 1948 against the wishes of these pan-Arab Conquistadors 🇵🇸! Hence, their non-citizen political land-squatting ever since – UNRWA funded 🇺🇳, of course! And, the ethnic cleansing of 1 million Mizrahi-Sephardi Jews 🕎🪬 from their Arab colonized lands throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
An honest historical question: Middle East, where are your native Jews? How did you come upon their lands and possessions?
The answer that they – Arabs themselves – refuse to acknowledge is: MENA Jews are in our 1948 decolonized Israel 🕎🪬🇮🇱, of course! And the rest are in the United States of Colonial America, still trying to get social justice through the European-Arab Colonial court systems 🇺🇳. Middle Eastern North African Jews in ISRAEL 🇮🇱 and in diaspora 🇺🇸 are just as ZIONIST as SWANA Jews!
NOTICE the red color 🔴 on the pan-Arab national flags 🇵🇸🇯🇴🇸🇾🇮🇶 and 🇮🇷! For this red color represents the Hashemite Arab Caliphate rule upon OTHER peoples’ lands that are NOT theirs to rule over. And the United Nations 🇺🇳 of Arab-European Colonial nations are supporting and financially/militarily backing their colonisation. Including the United States of Colonial America 🇺🇸 with its anti-Indigenous “two state solution” between Indigenous and Colonial occupier!
Hence, our ✊🏼 militarized Israeli 🇮🇱 and Kurdish ☀️ Indigenous resistance ✊🏼 to their 🇵🇸🇺🇳 post-WW1 land and identity thefts!
📢 Anyone who puts on the so-called “Palestinian” fishnet kufiya/keffiyeh in support of pan-Arab Colonial “Palestine”, TAKE IT OFF! You have ZERO right to wear our SWANA Indigenous shemagh (our Southwest Asian peoples’ sudra) in support of Arab terrorisms, Indigenous erasure, and cultural appropriation!!! 📢
✊🏼 From the Tigris river to the Mediterranean sea, one day Kurdistan ☀️, Israel 🇮🇱, and Lebanon 🇱🇧 will truly be free ✊🏼 ! And be able to live peacefully and securely amongst our Arab Colonial neighbors! Jin, Jiyan, Azadî (woman, life, freedom) revolution for SWANA Indigenous peoples’ equality! Flag of the post-WW1 Arab Hashemite Colonizer from Hejaz, Arabia —> Colonial Palestine 🇵🇸 !
Yes, watermelons have grown in the Middle East for centuries (like some European and Arab settlers). But, history shows that the watermelon is indigenous to Northern Africa, most likely Sudan. Just like Arab Muslim Conquistadors upon our northern Southwest Asia region are indigenous to Arabia.
Get this now, LISTEN! It is through our Canaanite Hebrew writings – the writings of the Jews who are indigenous to Southwest Asia – that historians have tracked the watermelon’s migration into the Middle East, as early as CE (A.D.) 200.
HELLO!!! Where, after the “immigration” of the watermelon, it was used as a religious tithe along with native figs, grapes, and pomegranates by the Jewish people who – again – are indigenous to Judea and Samaria, the Southwest Asia land of Israel. Why is this so difficult for non-devout antisemites to understand?!!!
META Description : Europeans AND Arabs have ZERO inherent rights to wear our SWANA Indigenous peoples’ shemagh and kufiya headdress!!!
We Jews are so glad that Judaism is not a religion! Please, take the time, now, to learn the easily verifiable historical facts about our SWANA Jewish people’s detailed history upon our Canaan land of Israel!
The History of Canaan Jews from Beginning to Present Day in Israel
THANK YOU for wanting to LEARN more about our Jewish people and about our Southwest Asia Indigenous peoples’ region!!!