Victorian Parliament Bans Keffiyeh Scarves, Deems Them 'Political'

The Victorian parliament on Wednesday banned the members from wearing the keffiyeh scarf during parliamentary debates and question time, calling it political.

The president of the upper house, Shaun Leane, and the speaker of the lower house, Maree Edwards, ruled that the keffiyeh scarf should not be worn inside the chambers, The Guardian reported.

"Could I please ask the members of the Greens to remove the scarves that they are wearing today and if they could put them in spots that are not visible to the chamber," Leane asked four Greens MPs, who appeared in Parliament wearing the scarf.

World over, the chequered keffiyeh scarf is associated with the Palestinian struggle for a separate state.

Leane also asked MP Samanta Ratnam to remove the watermelon earrings, another symbol of Palestinian struggle.

The ruling comes a week after Treasurer Tim Pallas' budget speech was disrupted by pro-Palestinian protests. A woman was heard shouting from the public gallery, "You preach the charter of human rights while Gaza is being annihilated by the Israeli Defence Force."

Liberal MP David Southwick, who is Jewish, objected to the "appalling behavior" of the pro-Palestinian supporter. The speaker then asked Greens MP from Richmond, Gabrielle de Vietri, who has been wearing a keffiyeh to take off the scarf and when she refused, she was sent out of the chamber for an hour and a half, The Age reported.

"If I came here with an Israeli flag today, I am sure many people would also equally take offence and ask me to take it off," Southwick said.

Green's leader Ellen Sandell, who asked for an explicit ruling on the ban and was heckled by MPs, shouting at her to sit down, said Green MPs were showing their solidarity to the "countless Palestinians under siege right now".

"In the midst of a potential genocide, our government should be joining the millions of people around the world calling for a permanent ceasefire," she stated. "Instead...Today the Victorian parliament becomes one of the only parliaments in the world to ban the wearing of the keffiyeh in the chamber."

"Political paraphernalia and badges are not allowed in the house. My ruling stands," speaker Edwards responded.