I remember the first Palestinian traditional thobe my mother ever bought me: I was about 9 years old and was a part of a class where we learnt how to dance Dabkeh, the official Palestinian folk dance that every Palestinian was taught as a child. We would wear the long dresses with intricate black and red hand-stitching, as a symbol of our Palestinian background, dance to traditional Arabic songs and eat iconic Palestinian dishes like stuffed vine leaves. These traditions have been instilled in almost every Palestinian I know, because for most of us it is the only way we can get a glimpse of our home country. And so it can be disheartening when one sees these customs being taken and credited as someone else’s.
It was announced back in October that the Miss Universe pageant of 2021 would be held in Israel, and several commentators had a lot to say about the news. One of them was Rafaela Plastira, who represents Greece, when she shocked the internet by announcing that she would not be attending the pageant because she “could not go up on the stage, acting like nothing is happening when people are fighting for their lives [in Israel and Palestine].” She also wrote, “Palestine you are not only in my mind every day but you have the most beautiful place in my heart forever.”
And yet, over the last few days, the internet has exploded with reactions to what many are calling cultural appropriation of Palestinian identity, in regards to the recent social media posts in Israel in honour of the pageant. It all began when Beatrice Luigi Gomez, Miss Universe Philippines 2021, took to her Instagram account to share photos of her time spent in Israel, where many are accusing her as well as Israel of cultural appropriation by wearing the traditional Palestinian thobe, cooking Palestinian dishes and engaging in centuries-long Palestinian traditions.
The internet has called out brands, companies and celebrities in the past for appropriating different cultures: be it Marc Jacobs’ controversial choice of dressing his models in dreadlocks down the runway back in 2016, or most recently accusations targeted at Ariana Grande for ‘Asian-fishing,’ a term coined at someone who is not Asian yet tries to appear so. But why is it difficult to call out anyone when the victims of the appropriation are Palestinians? I’ve rounded up the best internet reactions from those that haven’t been afraid to speak out.
"ViSiT iSrA*L!!!🤩🤩" but has traditional palestinian clothes on, is making palestinian dishes, listening to palestinian songs ..
— Fifi🤎 (@feeyfeyy_) December 8, 2021
Those are Palestinian cultural items, not Bedouin and certainly not "Israeli".
— Nomad / المسافر (@Nomad_Olive) December 8, 2021
