"She says that intifada 'is developing a negative connotation' because of its murderous anti-Israeli violence, Almontaser claims the shirts are merely 'an opportunity for girls to express that they are part of New York City society . . . and shaking off oppression.' "
While she may have a point here, I don't know enough about the language to know, I think she is wrong. I could wear a shirt with a swastika on it all around town, and if someone said I was racist claim the symbol has been corrupted. The swastika is based on an ancient sun symbol that is a sign for good luck, fertility and fortune. It was used by Hitler in World War II for his own ends, which have changed the meaning of the symbol ever since.
Of course it would be silly to walk around town with a swastika on my shirt, and expect people to understand that the symbol doesn't mean what they think it does. Just as it is silly to walk around with a shirt that proclaims what could be read as a declaration of an attack in New York, and expect that people will know that the word has been corrupted.
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