As per an initiative of City Councilman Miguel Arias of Fresno, California, at least four Palestinian flags were raised at Eaton Plaza on Friday afternoon. The flags will remain in place until Monday.
“We’re standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people of Fresno,” Arias said. “We’re not entertaining any support for a terrorist organization, Hamas. They’re a terrorist organization. It should be destroyed. But with that said, there are quite a bit of Palestinians in our city, and they range from neurosurgeons to heart surgeons to teachers and workers in our city and residents. And they deserve to know that they are, too, welcome and loved by our city.”
The flag raising ceremony was organized by Yasir Amireh of the Palestine Freedom Project. It was attended by about one hundred people. Chants of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” could be heard during the ceremony. The chant is part of the Hamas charter and is considered by many to be a call to entirely wipe out Israel. Many in the crowd waved Palestinian flags and wore black and white keffiyehs, a symbol of Palestinian nationalism that was adopted by many terrorist organizations.
Speakers and attendees called for a ceasefire. It should be noted that a ceasefire would benefit Hamas who still holds over one hundred Israeli hostages.
“The ultimate goal is not the lifting of my flag or a temporary ceasefire. The goal we are working towards is the end of the occupation and the liberation of Palestine,” said Layla Darwish, the founder of the Palestine Freedom Project.
Arias issued the news release proclaiming, “The City of Fresno raised the flag of Palestine in solidarity with the local community and all of the innocent lives lost in the current conflict.”
Councilmember Garry Bredefeld appeared on the talk radio show “Broeske and Musson” on KMJ Friday morning and expressed his displeasure at the decision to fly the Palestinian flag.
“It creates the perception that, we the city, supports Hamas, which the city does not support Hamas And my constituents and most people in this city do not support Hamas, a terrorist organization,” Bredefeld said. “It’s a terrible message. It shouldn’t be happening.”
On the show, Arias downplayed the remark, saying “One individual gets up and screams in a public setting is not a reflection of the whole community.”
Bredefeld disagreed, saying that all of the people in attendance repeated the antisemitic chant.
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer did not attend the ceremony.
The Palestinian national anthem, “Fida’ī” was played. The song was composed during the British Mandate in 1936 by the Egyptian composer Gamal Ismail and the Arab Israeli lyricist Said Al Muzayin.
A similar ceremony at Eaton Plaza on Oct. 12, five days after Hamas launched a terrorist attack on Israel.
The event coincided with the first day of Hanukkah.
On Wednesday, a march by faith leaders across the walkway of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco culminated in a Palestinian flag being illegally raised.
Last month, a Palestinian flag was raised on the town common in North Andover, Massachusetts. The flag raising was preceded by fierce public debate over the issue and approved by the town board with the expressed understanding that it did not represent the stance of the town of North Andover.
Worcester, Massachusetts, also raised a Palestinian flag outside City Hall for a week in October.
According to a recent Supreme Court decision, the town flagpole is considered a public forum and is protected under free speech.
A similar flag ceremony did not accompany the annual Palestine solidarity day in Philadelphia. Axios reported that Palestine does not meet the city’s criteria for a formal flag-raising ceremony. According to the city’s guidelines, the foreign country of the flag to be raised must meet at least one of the following criteria:
• A nation with an official Consulate or Embassy in the United States, OR
• A nation that is recognized by the United States Department of State, OR
• A nation that has significant historical, ethnic, or commercial ties to Philadelphia.
The Dublin City Council in Ireland unanimously approved a proposal last week to raise the Palestinian flag in solidarity with the people of Gaza.
