Hebron, occupied West Bank – Izzat Yasser Hirbawi, a 55-year-old bald man, stands smiling at the entrance to the Hirbawi factory in Hebron, the only place in Palestine, his website proudly proclaims, which produces Palestinian keffiyehs.
Three Hirbawi brothers, Izzat, Abdullah and Jouda, who today own and operate the factory, began working there as children, accompanying their father, Hajj Yasser, who founded it in 1961.
Merchant turned entrepreneur, Hajj Yasser began his career importing keffiyehs from Syria before deciding to create his own factory with two looms imported from Japan.
Hajj Yasser was deeply passionate about the keffiyeh, something he passed on to his boys from a young age, instilling a deep respect for its symbolic value among Palestinians around the world, as well as the importance of it being made in Palestine by Palestinian hands.
“We are happy… we love our work, no matter how long or hard we work,” Hirbawi told Tel Aviv Tribune.