Palestinian flags in Ireland

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Raising the standards
Israeli flags are hoisted in one part of the city while, in another,
Palestinian colours fly. But this isn't the West Bank. Clare Dwyer Hogg
reports from Belfast on Northern Ireland's latest sectarian battleground

The Guardian, 18 June 2002

An Israeli flag is held taut by the wind, its blue and white colours
brighter as the sun breaks through a gap in the clouds. But the sky against
which this flag flies is not the expanse that blazes over the Golan Heights
or Galilee. This is Belfast. And the community that hoisted it up was not
an Israeli community living in Northern Ireland, either. Instead, it's an
emblem among all the other cultural signs that crowd this small space. This
flag is in The Village, a loyalist enclave in north Belfast where Union
Jacks are in plentiful supply, murals of William of Orange decorate gable
walls, and the kerb stones are painted red, white and blue. Nothing seems
further removed from Protestant Unionism and fiercely held Northern Irish
links with Britain than the symbol of Israeli culture, but this isn't an
isolated display. In certain areas across Belfast, the most potent
declaration of Israeli nationalism is flying high, but so out of its
original context that its significance has taken on a completely different
meaning.

It still has everything to do with politics, of course. It seems strange
that Israel's cause is being heralded by the Unionists, and while there may
be parallels, it is hard to find a link between their politics. The most
obvious connection is an obtuse one ? Irish nationalism. The internal
conflict within Northern Ireland is such that the rationale seems to go
like this: if the Nationalists are putting up Palestinian flags, we'll put
up the flag of Palestine's enemies. And vice versa.

full: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/ulster/story.jsp?story=306552

Louis Proyect
Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org



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