The keffiyeh ban in Ontario’s Legislature must be overturned*
Like many, I was outraged and very deeply troubled by, first, the decision of the Speaker of the Ontario Legislative Assembly, Ted Arnott, to ban the keffiyeh at Queen’s Park; second, the refusal of several members of the legislature to offer unanimous consent to a motion overturning that decision; and third, the enforcement action now taken by the Speaker against Independent MPP Sarah Jama, who has had the courage to defy the ban and wear her keffiyeh on the floor of the legislature.
I’ve shared those concerns in a number of social media posts, as have many others with much more eloquence than my own. There have been many responses to my posts defending the Speaker’s decision and characterizing the keffiyeh as a symbol of hate, violence, oppression and antisemitism. That only reinforces my view that the Speaker’s actions are wrongheaded and, at the end of the day, essentially rooted in racism.
I am no authority, but readily understand that the keffiyeh is unquestionably representative of culture, identity and survival across the Arab world, and the black and white keffiyeh, in particular, representative of the Palestinian people. It is both practical and it is cultural. And while it may be worn in many different contexts and carry many different meanings, it is clear that at this time - in Canada, in Ontario, in Toronto and at Queen's Park - it is is worn, by many people, in all corners of the country - at home, on the streets, at school and work, in Parliament, legislatures and city halls, while riding public transit, at mosques and other places of faith, in restaurants, in parks, and essentially anywhere and everywhere - in acknowledgement of it being that iconic embodiment of Palestinian culture and identity. Most crucially, in many instances it is of course a symbol and expression of the wearer's own Palestinian and broader Arab culture and identity. It also represents an anguished cry for human rights, which we should all listen for and lift up at all times. That transcends politics and is at the core of our humanity.
It is glaringly beyond evident that the Speaker did not take this action because he was concerned that the keffiyeh is worn by members of the Revolutionary Guards in Iran, or Hamas, or because it was once worn by PLO leadership. No, it is abundantly clear that this action was taken, at this particular time, because of how meaningful the keffiyeh is and has become to millions and millions of people in the desperate struggle to stand up for the survival of the Palestinian people and their culture.
The Speaker's double standards and hypocrisy are all too clear, and reveal an attitude that is impossible to characterize as anything other than condescending (who is he to know what the keffiyeh means, personally, to Sarah Jama), divisive and, ultimately, racist. Many have, for instance, pointed to the fact that he has openly allowed and even embraced displays of the Ukrainian flag at Queen's Park, another symbol that of course carries, yes, a political message but is also of much deeper cultural significance, especially at this desperate time of Ukrainian struggle for survival in the face of unlawful and staggeringly violent Russian aggression. I have no disagreement at all with that, but I do expect and demand consistency and equal treatment.
What we need from the Speaker at this time is leadership of the provincial legislature in a manner that maintains open space for cultural expression and solidarity, especially when it is so fundamental to advancing human rights protection. Banning, vilifying, prohibiting and punishing such expression and such views deepens the very cleavages and misunderstandings that we must seek to heal. Rather than move us forward, it sets us all back; makes things worse, not better. And that is something we should not accept at any time, especially in our most treasured democratic institutions.
I have the deepest respect for Sarah Jama's conviction, which is both representative of her own cultural and family roots, but also champions the many others who are being denied entrance to THEIR provincial legislature, of all places, unless they leave their keffiyeh, and all that it means to them, at home. That it is a racialized, disabled woman, who has already been isolated and shunned within the legislature, who stands up to a white man, and decades of rules and attitudes set largely by white men, speaks volumes.
Any of us - I would suggest, especially white men - who leave her to take that stand on her own should feel nothing but shame.
* Photo credit CTV News.
