'Intergalactic' Resistance Studies Conference

Individual presentation

Exploring the role of materiality: The keffiyeh as a symbol of Palestinian resistance

Varenya Ganesh
University of Göttingen, Germany
In the context of the current Anti-Israel/Pro-Palestine mobilisation, that has been building up since October 2023, this essay will attempt to trace the (in)action of Jewish and Palestinian Muslim diaspora communities across the globe. Borrowing from Mahmood Mamdani’s (2020) framework of the making and unmaking of permanent identities, I want to delve further into the Zionist state project- ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and settler colonialism through the Occupation- which historically dates back to what is called the Nakba in 1948. By exploring the three different phases of Jewish migration to Palestine, between 1939-48, this study will try to illuminate the need to historicise Palestinian resistance within and against Zionist imperialism. The object of my analysis will center around the Palestinian keffiyeh (headdress/cloth used across the Arab states) and question the role of materiality in shaping the keffiyeh as a symbol of resistance and mobilisation of both Palestinian diaspora communities and non-Jewish/ non-Muslims in the movement today. In doing so, I will investigate the keffiyeh's symbolism through its design and colour, usage, and meaning across regions and over time (1948-2026). Due to paucity of space and time, this paper will be unable to undertake a comprehensive comparison of different kinds of keffiyeh’s across Arab states. Rather, I hope to view the keffiyeh in the movement for Palestinian resistance in light of its association to the more recent militarised history of Iran (1980s Iran-Iraq war). Through this comparison, I hope to shed light on the versatility and changing materiality of the keffiyeh based on its context. Given the occupation of Palestine and consequent displacement of its remaining community- I want to look at the creation of a Palestinian diaspora within their own region, and the immobilities they face. In investigating the keffiyeh within the current moment of Palestinian liberation and resistance, I want to explore the possibility of its cross-border mobility against that of the Palestinian who dons the headdress. In this regard, the current debate is focused on the appropriation of Palestinian culture by non-Arabs in the movement for liberation. I want to enter this debate through the secular identity of the keffiyeh which places greater emphasis on region over religion, and through this lens view the role of non-Arabs who are a part of Pro-Palestine resistance movements across the world.
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