Earlier this week, Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, instructed police officers to take down any PLO flags waving within sovereign Israeli territory. His instructions, which were not orders but closer to general guidelines, were headlined by pro-Palestinian media as a direct attack on freedom of speech for Arab-Israelis living within the Jewish state. However, hidden in their utopian perception of reality lies an uncomfortable truth most journalists let alone their readers refuse to see, it is called war. The Palestinian people are actively battling Israel, with weapons and in the media, with the objective of dismantling the Jewish State.

Palestine 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/HZ1JIwoBjp

— Sarah Hassan (@Sarah_Hassan94) January 9, 2023

Another thing for everyone to consider is the fact that while an Israeli minister, albeit a hard-right wing one, seeks to merely ban waving Palestinian Flags in Israel, waving an Israeli flag in any part of Palestinian territory is a sure way to get oneself killed.

To put it into simple terms so the pro-Palestinian activists can understand, just as a Russian flag in Kyiv would be presently unacceptable, a Palestinian one in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv would be considered the same. Considering that Palestinian leaders use the entirety of the State of Israel to denote their future Palestinian state and their main slogan, 'from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free' suggest a Jew-free zone in the land of Israel, it would be highly inappropriate to let them promote this ideology inside Israel.

I applaud the decision to ban Palestinian flags in Israel. The Palestinian flag represents and symbolises genocidal terrorism on the part of the PA and ISIS-like Islamic jihad and Hamas who seek to destroy the Jewish state and Jews globally.

— Edward Rose (@EdwardRose5) January 10, 2023

The Pan-Arabist flag of the PLO carries a tremendously deeper meaning for its activists and opposers alike. For both parties, it has become the symbol of Palestinian sovereignty, activism, and nationalism, along with the termination of the “occupation”, also known as the end of the Zionist state. This flag has a relatively short but impactful history in the region; which to many Israelis who share the nationalism of Itamar Ben Gvir has largely been defined by the thousands of Jews who have been killed in acts of terror in the name of Palestine. For the general Israeli public, the green-red-white-black combination renders a direct threat to their personal existence, along with their nation. 

Freedom of speech and expression are indeed important to the right-wing minister who most recently said “I'm in favor of all levels of freedom of speech”, but unfortunately for the Palestinian cause, most politicians tend to not include hate speech within that definition. For example, in modern and obviously extremely liberal Germany, any type of Nazi flag or symbol will usually result in some jail time along with a heavy fine. There is barely any debate on if the swastika should be allowed to be displayed in Germany because it clearly is seen as hateful, inciteful, and disproportionately offending. 

Silencing Dissent?@itamarbengvir instructed @israelpolice to take down Palestinian Flags as they are used to support terrorism and are a symbol of hate.

Legal advisors argue that the edict goes against Israel's laws protecting free expression.https://t.co/jUARevI2Xi

— The Judean (@TheJudean) January 9, 2023

Another example comes from the different cities and villages the PLO flag represents, in which waving an Israeli flag, speaking Hebrew, or showing any sympathy for the Zionists would end in bloodshed and incidents like these are largely unreported when they happen as it bucks the narrative of a helpless, oppressed Palestinian population instead of a brutal population that has literally been taught to not simply hate Jews but strive to kill them at every chance in hopes God will accept their martyrdom. 

To those who don’t believe this, I would personally challenge them to enter Ramallah with an Israeli flag but wouldn’t wish that type of miserable torturous death on anyone. A simple Google search of 'Ramallah Lynching' will show, in all its gory details, exactly what happens when Israeli Jews venture into Palestinian areas and keep in mind, to this day the incident, despite the plethora of graphic images, not once led to a United Nations investigation or even discussion into war crimes committed by Palestinians.

And no, ‘two wrongs don’t make a right' would not be the proper way to defend the pro-PLO flag stance against Ben Gvir’s decision since there is no comparison between banning a flag and killing over it. The double standard on the global front is not even hidden anymore when it comes to Israeli policy. Sure, moderate critics of Ben Gvir within Israeli borders will typically claim that Zionism doesn’t have to hit below the belt, as the PA attempts to do daily between reporting Israel to international courts and banning Jews from its territories, but is that the case in banning a flag that was created to not simply counter Israel’s foundation, but symbolizes its destruction? 

“It’s a form of trying to negate Palestinian life, they’re suffocating us.”
Dr. Linda Tabar

– Mondoweiss https://t.co/Di3TLZnKYG

— Aoude (@AoudeA) January 9, 2023

Dr. Linda Tabar, a lecturer at Sussex University and Palestinian activist told the partisan “Mondoweiss” magazine in regards to Ben Gvir’s decision that “It’s erasure and a form of criminalizing every act of Palestinian resistance and identity.” Although the well-established activist perhaps did not realize it when releasing her statement, but the Israeli right-wing coalition couldn’t agree more. 

When resistance and identity are realized in the form of killing innocents and wishing all Jews living in the ancient land of the Israelites would simply disappear into the Mediterranean Sea, then yes, Israeli nationalists would surely love to criminalize it all.