i think the thing to understand about the keffiyah as it relates to palestine is that it is primarily a symbol of political solidarity. of course it has a long history in the levant and the middle east in general, but the specific black and white design which is associated with the struggle for palestinian liberation only came into wider use in the 20th century. if you are a friend of the movement in good faith (and if your purchasing power is going directly in the pockets of gazans under occupation), there is no "appropriation."

from this i would extrapolate further and say that the most basic definition of solidarity as a revolutionary principle requires us to see ourselves as fundamentally like the Other. i think the impulse to separate ourselves from each other in this way, to refuse to adopt another's struggle as our own, is a liberal one, and neutralizes our energies.