New York City’s Noguchi Museum has said it fired three employees after they violated its updated dress code by wearing keffiyeh headscarves, which have become an emblem of solidarity with the Palestinian cause, Reuters reports.

Last month, the art museum — founded by Japanese American sculptor Isamu Noguchi — announced a policy prohibiting employees from wearing anything that expressed “political messages, slogans or symbols”.

“While we understand that the intention behind wearing this garment was to express personal views, we recognize that such expressions can unintentionally alienate segments of our diverse visitorship,” it said in a statement.

Natalie Cappellini, one of the three gallery attendants who was fired, took to Instagram to say the museum leadership was weaponising the term “political” against the Palestinian cause. Reuters was unable to reach the other two fired employees.

In November, three students of Palestinian descent in Vermont were shot in an attack under investigation. Two of them were wearing the keffiyeh. A New York City hospital fired a Palestinian American nurse in May after she called Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide” during an acceptance speech for an award.