South African Judge Richard Goldstone’s name may spark anger for some in Israel, but in Gaza the name is synonymous with heroism and to prove it, it is being sewn onto souvenir Palestinian headscarves in honor of his war inquiry into Israel’s deadly assault of the strip.
Tariq Abu Dia, owner of the President Arafat souvenir shop in Gaza City, says Goldstone, who is Jewish, deserves the honor of appearing on the iconic Palestinian keffiyeh made famous by Yasser Arafat, for whom the shop is named.
"Today we put out 50 keffiyehs made of white fabric with the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and the name ‘Goldstone’ embroidered on them, to honor his work," Abu Dia says, as he shows off one of the scarves.
The shop, which mostly caters to foreign aid workers and activists working in the besieged and impoverished territory, will be selling the scarves, which Abu Dia insists are handmade, for around $20.
Goldstone, a former international war crimes prosecutor, has become a celebrity of sorts for Palestinians since he authored a United Nations Human Rights Council report on the Gaza war in which he accused Israel of war crimes for killing some 1,400 Palestinians.
The U.N. General Assembly was expected on Wednesday to approve a non-binding resolution urging both sides to investigate Goldstone’s findings despite Israel’s fierce opposition to the report.
(Alarabiya.net English and Agencies)