After much delay and cautious discussion, Palestine will now have a flag of its own, government officials have informed the Executive of the Jewish Agency for Palestine.
The emblem decided upon will be the Union Jack, but it will have the word “Palestine” inscribed on a circle in one corner of the flag. The blue and white Zionist flag may be flown with it.
The question of designating an official flag for Palestine has come up again and again, most recently in connection with the shipping industry. Ships of Jewish companies in Palestine were at a loss as to which flag to fly that they might be properly registered as Palestinian ships under the special navigation laws.
A recent incident in a Palestinian harbor may have hastened the decision on the flag. A Japanese captain, eager to follow the custom of displaying the flag of the country visited by the ship along with its own flag, nevertheless refused to fly the Union Jack when in a Palestine port. According to the League of Nations agreement, the captain argued, Palestine is an independent country, although under a mandate. This placed the Palestine administration in a quandary, for to have recognized the Zionist flag would have brought Arab protests, and to have honored the green flag of the Arabs would similarly have evoked protest from the Jews.
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