“They say they are making the place more welcoming by erasing any sign of Palestinian culture.”
Three employees at New York City’s Noguchi Museum have been fired for violating a new dress code by wearing the keffiyah, a headdress that has become a symbol of solidarity for the Palestinian cause.
Last month, the art museum announced an internal policy reportedly prohibiting employees from wearing clothing or accessories that expressed “political messages, slogans or symbols.”
“While we understand that the intention behind wearing this garment was to express personal views, we recognize that such expressions can unintentionally alienate segments of our diverse visitorship,” the museum said in a statement, according to The New York Times.
The statement added: “Within the museum, our responsibility is to foster a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment for all staff and visitors. To maintain this environment, we have made the decision to remove political statements from our workplace.”
‘Public Stance’
Following the adjustment to the dress code, 50 staff members signed a petition to oppose the new rules and also staged a walkout in protest.
“The museum has not made any public statement surrounding the ongoing war in Gaza, but by changing the dress code to ban the kaffiyeh it is taking a public stance,” the petition reportedly said.
The museum was founded by Japanese American sculptor and activist Isamu Noguchi.
Natalie Cappellini, one of the three fired gallery attendants, called out “the stupidity and irony of a cultural institution banning a cultural garment.”
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“They say they are making the place more welcoming by erasing any sign of Palestinian culture,” Cappellini said at a rally outside the museum on Sunday.
She said the museum’s management claims that banning the keffiyah “is making them neutral,” adding “We know they are wrong.”
‘Away From Politics’
“When Amy Hau said she was banning the keffiyah, she used the excuse that this place is a sanctuary – a sanctuary away from politics.”
“How naive can you be? To be inside of a museum of a man who self-interned with his oppressed Japanese American brothers and sisters in World War 2; a museum filled with sculptures dedicated to the memory of those killed by atomic weapons. How dare they say this place is a sanctuary away from politics!”
In response to the museum’s policy, activists have launched the hashtag #PalestineInTheMuseum calling on visitors to take pictures at the museum, or at other museums and use the hashtag “to prove that although leadership can try to ban it, solidarity is everywhere,” according to the Noguchi Rights profile on Instagram.
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“From Noguchi’s This Tortured Earth a memorial for the tragedies of war, to Bolt of Lighting.. A Memorial to Benjamin Franklin, we see Palestine everywhere. As former Noguchi Museum staff, we feel distinctly aware of Noguchi’s anti-fascist legacy. Palestine is most definitely in the Noguchi Museum, as well as in all museums and with all oppressed people,” a caption to one of the posts stated on the Instagram page.
The page advocates “for respect and representation at The Noguchi Museum.”
Ongoing Genocide
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
Massacres in Gaza – 34 Dead, 96 Injured as International Condemnation Mounts
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 41,118 Palestinians have been killed, and 95,125 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
Brave lady. More power to her and everyone who was fired for supporting Palestine. Unfortunately, we live in a world where standing with the oppressed may cost a lot.
God bless these museum employees who act with courage and dignity in support of innocent Palestinians being slaughtered in their own land by the thieves who have oppressed them for decades. America does have a Constitution and Bill of Rights, unlike a rogue state that is bent on stifling free speech and the right to dissent. We need to free Palestine AND America from the oppressive forces of greed, indecency, and racism that are threatening our human and civil rights.
ROGER THAT.TAKBIR!!!!
From the beginning the war was always ISLAM.