As Israel turns 75, its flag unfurls into deep divisions...

News Summary

  • The plan has plunged Israel into one of its worst domestic crises, exposing deeply rooted divisions and sending tens of thousands of people into the streets each week, even after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paused the overhaul because of the intense pressure.There are other disagreements over the flag.
  • Many of the country’s Palestinian citizens, who make up one-fifth of Israel’s 9.7 million people, do not feel represented by the flag — one of the reasons they have not joined the anti-government protests.
  • However, those protesting now say that the flag has increasingly been co-opted by nationalists claiming to have greater legitimacy to decide the country’s character and its future.
  • For most Jewish Israelis, the flag has been a potent symbol of their foundational narrative — of a nation that rose from the ashes of the Holocaust to build a modern-day miracle, with a strong military and at the forefront of technology.
  • For Palestinians in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, the flag is an emblem of a 56-year-old occupation that includes military control and increased settlement building, further dimming their hopes for an independent state.
  • As Israel marks 75 years since its creation, the protesters say they are turning that argument on its head by reclaiming the flag.
As Israel turns 75, its flag unfurls into deep divisionsTEL AVIV, ISRAEL (AP) Its become an unmistakable hallmark of the antigovernment protests roiling Israel for the last few months the countr [+2887 chars]