Palestinians Earn A Living Making Kippot For Jews

Under the shade of a leafy vine in the occupied West Bank village of Lobban al-Gharbia, three Palestinian women are sitting, knitting and nattering.

 

Palestinians earn a living making Jewish skullcaps
By Jon Donnison • BBC News

Under the shade of a leafy vine in the occupied West Bank village of Lobban al-Gharbia, three Palestinian women are sitting, knitting and nattering.

From the minaret of the next-door mosque, the call to prayer rings out as their fast-moving fingers click the needles at a rapid rhythm.

Slowly forming in their laps are three small, round, white pieces of crocheted cloth.

These three Palestinian Muslim women are making one of the most obvious symbols of Jewishness and Judaism - the kippa.

Kippot (as they are known in the plural) are the small domed skullcaps that many Jewish men wear on their heads. Kippa literally means "dome".

They are often known by their Yiddish name, the yarmulke. It is said kippot are worn to remind people that a Jewish God is above their heads, watching over them.

It is unusual therefore that in Lobban al-Gharbia, there are more than 100 Palestinian Muslim women involved in a kippa cottage industry.

"A job is a job," says Fatma Abdul Radwan, who has been making kippot to be exported to Israel for more than 30 years.

She says it does not bother her that she is producing goods for Israeli Jews, despite the decades of conflict and the Israeli military occupation.

"Circumstances force you to do some things. We need to make a living in order to live," Mrs Abdul Radwan says.

She says she is paid eight shekels (just over $2; £1.25) for every kippa she makes. Each one will take her two to three hours. She says she usually makes about 10 kippot a week, earning her around $20. It is not much.

But in Palestinian villages across the West Bank, there are thousands of women working from home in the kippa industry.

"There are over 100 women in our village alone," says Mrs Abdul Radwan. "We make around 1,000 kippot a week."

Alongside her, Sadika Husam's fingers are whirring.

"It's an easy job," Mrs Husam says.

"There's nothing else to do here, and it means we can be at home and look after our children while we do it."

The United Nations estimates unemployment in the West Bank runs at over 20%.

Israel’s trading partner

How the thousands of Palestinian-made kippot make it into Israel is somewhat murky.

Mrs Abdul Radwan says every week or so, she collects up all the handiwork of women across the village and passes it to a middleman.

She did not want to say who, but this man then arranges for the kippot to be delivered to Israel, most likely taken in the back of a car through the checkpoints that separate the West Bank from Israel.

In fact, Israel is the Palestinians' biggest trading partner.

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 90% of the $560m worth of goods exported from the West Bank in 2008 were sold to Israel, or via Israel.

"There is a certain irony about kippot being made on the West Bank," says Ephraim Kleiman, professor of economics at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

"But actually many goods, such as stone and building materials, vegetables and clothing, are exported to Israel."

However, Prof Kleiman says Israeli bureaucracy and paperwork can often make exporting Palestinian goods more difficult than it should be.

Market hit

In Jerusalem's main market, Mehana Yehuda, Palestinian-made kippot can be found for sale.

"We have some kippot made by Palestinians," says Itzik Sheler, a little sheepishly, who works at the Kippa Man store on the market's main street.

"They are not as cheap as the Chinese-made ones, but they are cheaper than those made by Israelis."

He sells white kippot like those made in Lobban al-Gharbia for 15 shekels. Chinese-made kippot sell for as little as seven shekels. The most expensive Israeli-made kippa in his shop sells for 150 shekels.

"The tourists don't care who makes them," says Mr Sheler.

Browsing the rows of kippot, I find 23-year-old Heim Segev, an orthodox Jew wearing a smart black velvet kippa.

"I don't know who made mine," he says laughing and checking the label.

"I wouldn't want Hamas to be making it, but if it's an ordinary Palestinian, I don't care."

[Hat Tip: Seymour.]

Comments

[harold]

"I wouldn't want Hamas to be making it, but if it's an ordinary Palestinian, I don't care."

Fair enough. I know that I would buy a yarmulka made by a local Palestinian over a Chinese made one since one of the formulas for peace with a neighbor is economic stability and if we could be part of it then it is better for us.

[Garnel Ironheart]

> "We have some kippot made by Palestinians," says Itzik Sheler, a little sheepishly, who works at the Kippa Man store on the market's main street.

Ack! I bought lots from him!

[Menachem Mendel lll]

ABOSULUTLY nothing wrong with it according to Hebraic-Judaic law.

Everyone has to make a living.

Anyway, it's no big deal because when the Moshiach arrives it will all be sorted out with along with the building of the 3rd temple.

[Yehudha de Oliveira]

Why would there be anything wrong? At least those knitting kippot aren't blowing themselves up... They should be payed better though.

[Yochanan Lavie]

Apologies to Allman Brothers:

Chorus:
Allah, I was born a kipa man
Tryin' to make a livin' and knitting the best I can
And when it's time for jihad I hope you'll understand
That I was born a kipa man

Well my father was a terrorist down in Gaza
And he wound up on the wrong end of a gun
And I was born in the back tent of a ... refugee camp
Sponsored by the UN

chorus

Y'allah!

I'm on my way to Tel Aviv this mornin'
Leavin' out of Nablus, West Bank
They're always havin' a good time down on Dizengoff
Allah, Jewish women are the ones to thank

chorus

Allah, I was born a kipa man (4x to fade)

[effie]

Now, that's pretty damn good, LV. LOL!

[effie]

YL not LV. sorry :(

[Michelle]

B"H

Uh, "occupied West Bank" gives you a clear idea where this article is going from the beginning, doesn't it?

The BBC is so full of it.

How many Jews worked for the damned Brits for nothing while they were "occupying" Israel??

M

[Yerachmiel Lopin]

The numbers in the story sound implausible. 10/week/worker x 2,000 workers x 50 weeks yields 1 million knit kipot a year. Assume 1 million orthodox jews in the world. Half are female, half wouldnt touch a knit kipah and you are left with about 250,000 knit yarmulka wearers each buying 4 new kipot a year all from Palestinians. Sorry, I don't buy it.

PS, YL, you really hit the spot with your song. Todah rabbah.

[Yehudha de Oliveira]

Many Gentile tourists buy kippot as souvenirs

[Adam Neira]

This is fine. an increasing level of the general welfare and rising GDP in the State of Israel, Gaza, the West Bank/Judea and Samaria is part of the Redemption. If someone can eke out a living making kippot that is fine. The Israeli economy is humming along although things just might ground to a halt unless certain moves are made. There is great potential for growth however. Regional growth rates could exceed 3% per annum over the next forty years if things are managed well.

A stable, productive, buoyant Holy Land is the desired plan. Competition in the supply of goods and services is a sign of a healthy economy. False restrictions on trade due to political or religious dogma are counterproductive to dynamic growth. The area will not be split into a Settlertown and Westbankistan. Even if this was managed in some bizarre way there would still need to be some form of interaction between the two land masses. I am no longer surprised that people cannot see more than two moves ahead on the cosmic chess board.

[Abracadabra]

YL - great parody! LOL

[Office of the Chief Rabbi]

Another fine piece, YL.

[Ann]

As long as you do not worship something made by an idol worshiper.... (Avodah Zarah 52A).
Do men worship their kippas?

[Heart of Stone]

Nattering (though it may make for a good line) is actually something of a dismissive term - a la Spiro T. Agnew's dismissal of the press as "nattering nabobs of negativism"...

[Heart of Stone]

Nattering (though it may make for a good line) is actually something of a dismissive term - a la Spiro T. Agnew's dismissal of the press as "nattering nabobs of negativism"...

[Anon please]

Isn't someone going to say its a good thing they are working for us? And a sign of the redemption? :)

[Yochanan Lavie]

Thanks to those who liked my parody.

[Garnel Ironheart]

1) This fits in great with the next story about Rav Ovadiah claiming gentiles only exist to serve us.

2) I always thought the Kippa Man had 20 Bnei Akiva girls in his basement knitting away as part of their sheirut leumi.

[Neandershort]

Garnel - Bnei Akiva girls serve with distinction in the regular army.

Back when I was in Bnei Akiva, girls would knit kippot for boys as tokens of affection. Central to the Torah va'Avoda philosophy is that the labor of a Jew, male or female, is holy, and we were proud to wear our girlfriends' kippot. Couldn't have that today now, could we?

[harold]

2) I always thought the Kippa Man had 20 Bnei Akiva girls in his basement knitting away as part of their sheirut leumi

It still doesn't mean that he does not have 20 girls in his basement, just that they are not knitting kippot :)

Couldn't resist!

[effie]

Nattering (though it may make for a good line) is actually something of a dismissive term ...

Now, I thought to nat was another term for spool knitting.

[Mr. Apikoros]

"Under the shade of a leafy vine in the occupied West Bank village of Lobban al-Gharbia, three Palestinian women are sitting, knitting and nattering."

I guess they are nattering nabobs of negativism.