A tembel hat (Hebrew: kova tembel, כובע טמבל) is a hat which became an Israeli national symbol. The tembel hat was worn by Jews in Mandatory Palestine and later Israel from the beginning of the 20th century until the 1970s. It was associated with hard-working Zionist Israelis.[1][2] It especially became associated with kibbutzim, tzabarim, and Israeli youth movements.[2][3] In Israeli cartoons it is still used to symbolize the typical Israeli (e.g., the cartoon character Srulik).[2] Tembel hats were most notably produced by the ATA textile company.[4]
The central practical and ideological roles of work in Kibbutz life were reflected in its sartorial culture. Heads were covered with the "tembel" hat, a floppy bell-shaped head covering which in the 1950s became strongly associated with the Israeli born natives[.]