Flag-Waving

There is a marked difference between the flag of a country and their people just as there is a marked difference between the governments of some countries and their citizens. Recently a neighboring town responded to a petition to fly the Palestinian flag, and were seriously considering it as their response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. But there was not an equal debate over whether to fly an Israeli flag. In the end neither will happen, at least not in that city.

I have deep compassion for the citizens living in Gaza – not all of whom are Palestinian or Muslim. These are the victims when missiles and bombs land in the street and not on some “military” target. At the same time I have deep compassion for Jews living in Israel or, as some do, living in Gaza. The atrocities vetted on them is equally inhuman. Neither of these peoples are waging war. They are simply the victims of an escalating violence between a terrorist organization, Hamas, and the military and leader of Israel.

Benjamin Netanyahu is the longest tenured leader of Israel, yet is not looked upon with much favor by the majority of the Israeli people. And despite the normal boost leaders seem to get during times of war, his support has dropped to an all-time low. The same could be said for the US President whose approval rating has been hanging out just below the 40% mark for months. And over 80% of all Palestinians believe that their leader, Mahmoud Abbas, should resign. The net effect of these and other indicators is that the leaders of these countries are neither representative of their citizenry nor held in high regard.

The problem then is that asking for a flag to be flown in a sign of support may send an opposite message that the flag-wavers might not intend; that is, if we are to take both the flag and the leaders to representative of the populous. The truth of the matter is that innocent humans, who have no interest in these conflicts are being killed, violated, and starved as a result of the warring.

War is never the answer, and flag-waving by nationalists is often simply offensive and not in the least symbolic of support for the victims of war and humanitarian crises. Perhaps if World Central Kitchen, Save the Children and Doctors Without Borders had flags (and I don’t know if the others do, though I did find the MSF flag above), then I might be tempted to fly that banner high. But, sadly that would mean little to anyone other than myself, and it may be no indication of any kind of support. What is needed is action on two fronts: we must rally to demand a cease fire and to put pressure of these would-be leaders to do something other than escalating the conflict and killing; and secondly we need to rally support – financial support for those humanitarian efforts on the ground in both countries.

Talmudic scholar and millennial TikTok sensation, Miriam Anzovin, has been posting information about agencies who are on the ground doing the hard work of relief and care for the victims in both Israel and Palestine. I highly recommend watching her podcast or simply looking for her on TikTok. She is smart, articulate and extremely well informed. But whatever you do, do us all a favor and don’t just hang out some flag as a sign of your intended support. Do something. Donate to these brave humanitarian activists. Raise money for their supplies, for the food they deliver, the medicine they administer. Like Ukraine, where these same agencies are also working tirelessly, people in Israel and Gaza are not just suffering; they are dying. Let’s raise dollars not flags. The world is watching and history will judge us for what we do or do not do. Where will you choose to take action?

Kris Girrell is an author, speaker and executive leadership coach, living in Andover, MA. He is an expert on cultural/emotional intelligence and is co-founder of Operationelf.org, a holiday gifting charity now in its 22nd year.