New York City museum fires 3 employees for violating dress code by wearing keffiyehs
Noguchi Museum frets emblem of Palestinian solidarity could ‘alienate segments’ of visitors’; one fired attendant accuses institute of ‘weaponizing’ rules against cause
New York City’s Noguchi Museum said on Wednesday it fired three employees after they violated its updated dress code by wearing keffiyeh head scarves, which have become an emblem of solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
At protests aroud the world demanding an end to Israel’s war with Palestinian terror group Hamas in Gaza, some demonstrators have worn the black-and-white keffiyeh head scarf as a show of solidarity with Palestinians. Israel’s supporters say it is provocative and a sign of backing extremism.
Last month, the art museum — founded by Japanese American sculptor Isamu Noguchi — announced a policy prohibiting employees from wearing anything 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,” it said in a statement.
Natalie Cappellini, one of the three gallery attendants who was fired, took to Instagram to say the museum leadership was weaponizing the term “political” against the Palestinian cause.
Reuters was unable to reach the other two fired employees.
The keffiyeh has long been a symbol of Palestinian nationalism, exemplified by the late Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat, who was rarely photographed without one.
There are previous instances in the United States of people losing jobs due to action they took over their stance on the Israel-Hamas war.
A New York City hospital fired a Palestinian American nurse in May after she called Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide” during an acceptance speech for an award.
The Gaza war erupted on October 7 when Hamas led thousands of terrorists in a devastating cross-border attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, while committing widespread atrocities and sexual assault, and taking 251 hostages to the Gaza Strip.
Israel responded with a military campaign to destroy Hamas in Gaza and free the hostages.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 40,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 17,000 combatants in battle and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques. It denies genocide charges brought by South Africa at the World Court.
