WASHINGTON: A growing number of Americans are donning the keffiyeh, the distinctive patterned scarf that鈥檚 closely linked with Palestinians, to demand a ceasefire to Israel鈥檚 attacks on Gaza or to signal their support for Palestinians.
Sales of the scarves have jumped since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, US distributors say, even as keffiyehs have been forcibly removed by security forces at some protests and wearers report being targeted for verbal and physical abuse.
鈥淚t was like a light switch. All of a sudden, we had hundreds of people on the website simultaneously and buying whatever they could,鈥� said Azar Aghayev, the US distributor for Hirbawi, which opened in 1961 and is the only manufacturer of keffiyehs left in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
鈥淚n two days, the stock that we had was just gone, and not just gone, it was oversold.鈥�
Hirbawi, which has patented its brand, sells scarves internationally via its US and German websites and on Amazon. All 40 variations on the US website, which include many in bright colors as well as the traditional black and white, are sold out, Aghayev said.
Unit sales of keffiyeh scarves have risen 75 percent in the 56 days between Oct. 7 and Dec. 2 on Amazon.com compared with the previous 56 days. Searches for 鈥淧alestinian scarf for women鈥� rose by 159 percent in the three months to Dec. 4 compared with the previous three months.