It wasn’t the first time.

But it was the first time since five days ago when the Jewish woman at my zoom fitness class ordered me to remove my red keffiyeh because it “offended” her.  Palestine offended her.

Remember, I said no, that I didn’t take orders. 

So she threw a tantrum.  When someone at age 65 does it, it’s not a pretty sight. 

Today was a glorious day, so I sat outside my favourite café fortifying myself with a cappuccino before going to the weight room at the YMCA.   

I was reading a book, when suddenly, a young man who looked like an MBA student (I should know, I used to teach them!) came by.  He was smartly dressed and sauntered up to my table.  Quietly he said, “Do you have a few minutes?”

Maybe he was Palestinian, maybe not.  Maybe he was an international student, maybe not.  Was he going to ask me for money, for a donation, or for directions? I said “sure”. 

He said “I want to thank you for showing your support and wearing the keffiyeh.”  I smiled.

He went on, “It means a lot when I see someone who is committed to Palestine, thanks from the bottom of my heart.”  

I blubbered, “Oh, of course!”  

He entered the café, and seconds later came out with his takeout coffee; he waved at me another thanks. 

I can see why it meant a lot.  Arabic is the third most spoken language in Nova Scotia, and in a university town like this, thousands of students are from the Middle East, or their parents are from there.  A lot of young Palestinians here have relatives in Gaza, or the West Bank.  Every day is playing Russian roulette for their loved ones in Gaza.  The news screams at Israel’s atrocities but the media rarely takes the Palestinians’ side.  It’s still called the Israel-Hamas war but of course it’s Israel’s War on Gaza. 

Unlike at my Sunday class, my only misstep today was to be drinking a cappuccino at 2 pm.  I read in The Broker that Italians scoff at anyone who drinks it past 11 am, because they are clearly vulgar tourists.  For once, thank goodness I’m in Halifax.

Sketch at the top: Front gates of Halifax’s Public Gardens, by Wynand van Niekerk, he is @downtownsketcher. He lives in Halifax and here is his artwork site.