Dawn Images

Palestinian-American model Bella Hadid is one of the few celebrities unflinchingly vocal in her support for Palestine. As Israel’s aggression in Gaza intensifies, Hadid continues to raise awareness about her culture.

In an Instagram post, the model highlighted the Palestinian keffiyeh, and spoke about the red keffiyeh dress she wore in Cannes, France during the city’s famed film festival.

“Palestine on my mind, in my blood and on my heart. Always… While I still have to go to work, even through this horror, to wear our culture makes me a proud Palestinian and I want the world to continue to see Palestine, wherever we go,” Hadid wrote.

She showcased the keffiyeh dress in a series of pictures, adding that it was designed by Michael and Hushi in 2001 and was “a beautiful way to represent the history, labour of love, resilience and, most importantly, the art of historic Palestinian embroidery”.

She detailed that Palestinian keffiyeh symbolised various themes, with the olive leaf pattern depicting strength resilience and perseverance. She continued that the “larger part of the keffiyeh is the fishnet pattern which resembles the fishnet, and the relationship between the Palestinian fisherman and the sea”, adding that it symbolised abundance and grace.

“To many of us, the sea also means freedom. Especially to Palestinians living in the West Bank, and have no access to the sea, due to restricted movement”.

Hadid said the sea waves resembled the strength and resilience of Palestinian communities, which persevered for 73 years under military occupation and oppression.

“Some posts on social media wrote that the resemblance come[s] from the olive leaves which is also an important symbol, but after a conversation with the Judeh Hirbawi from Hirbawi Factory in Hebron he said that it comes from sea waves.”

She also said the bold lines on the cloth represented the trade routes going through Palestine, which played a vital role in carving the history and rich culture of Palestinian communities.

The model urged her 61 million followers to watch her stories and find accounts talking about the situation in Palestine if they were unaware of what was happening in Gaza.

“Please educate yourself on the ongoing occupation and genocide that is happening RIGHT NOW in Gaza,” she said and beseeched people to not be desensitised to the horrors being endured by the people of Palestine.

“With that being said …. ALL EYES ON RAFAH.”

Worn as a sign of solidarity with the Palestinian cause, the keffiyeh — the iconic black and white patterned scarf — is a huge part of the Free Palestine movement. Read more about the history of the iconic piece of cloth and how it became a symbol of resistance on Images.