The Noguchi Museum in New York City said it has fired three employees after they violated its dress code by wearing the keffiyeh, which has become a symbol of solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
“While we recognize that the intention behind wearing the keffiyeh was to express personal views, we also recognize that such expressions could unintentionally alienate segments of our diverse visitors,” the museum said in a statement.
The museum, founded by Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi, last month announced a policy banning employees from wearing anything that expresses “political messages, slogans or symbols.”
In contrast, Natalie Cappellini, one of the three employees who were fired, said that the museum’s leadership was using the term “political” as a weapon against the Palestinian cause.
The keffiyeh has always been a symbol of the Palestinian cause, and in protests around the world demanding an end to Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, demonstrators wear the Palestinian keffiyeh.
Last November, three students of Palestinian descent in Vermont were shot and wounded in an ongoing attack. Two of them were wearing keffiyehs.
There are previous cases in the United States where people lost their jobs because of their position on the war between Israel and Gaza.
A New York City hospital fired a Palestinian-American nurse in May after she described Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” during an award acceptance speech.
Since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza more than 11 months ago, protests have erupted around the world. The most prominent of these protests were held in American and European universities, demanding an end to the war on the Strip and an end to arms exports to Israel.
With full American support, Israel has been waging a devastating war in Gaza since October 7, leaving more than 136,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amidst massive destruction and deadly famine.
In contempt of the international community, Israel continues the war, ignoring the UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate halt, and the International Court of Justice’s orders to take measures to prevent genocide and improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.
