Why Are Israeli Soldiers Wearing Chef Hats?!?!

This latest video from the Israeli military’s YouTube push is fascinating for all sorts of reasons — from the you-are-there views of a Gaza firefight to the oh-so-close sounds of mortars dropping. But can someone tell me why these IDF soldiers are wearing these crazy chef hats?!?!?! UPDATE: Turns out Slate’s "Explainer" asked the same question, a while back. Turns out the hats are "for camouflage." The hat—called a mitznefet in Hebrew—attaches to a regular combat helmet and obscures its rigid, round shape. As the mitznefet flops about, it takes on an irregular form that’s harder to recognize in a shadow or out of the corner of your eye. The hat also protects against the sun and the moon, which might reflect off the surface of the helmet. A standard mitznefet consists of reversible mesh fabric, with a greenish woodland camouflage print on one side and a brown desert print on the other… What does the word mitznefet mean? One common translation is "clown hat," but the term has some more ...  more