A Massachusetts town approved flying the Palestinian flag for a month despite heated debate among its residents following the Hamas terror attack on Israel in October.
The black, white, green and red flag of the Palestine Liberation Organization is raised below both the American flag and the POW-MIA flag on the North Andover Common Town flagpole.
College student Selma Khayal originally requested that the Palestinian flag be raised after the city raised an Israeli flag on the same flagpole following a Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, according to a flag-raising permit seen by The Post.
Khayal made the request on October 16, just six hours before the city updated its flag-flying policy.
The old policy allowed anyone to petition to have the flag raised in town after approval by the Board of Selectmen “resulting in the flagpole being considered a public forum.”
With the updated policy, the notion of a flagpole being used as a public forum has been removed and instead, will be limited to “statements of government speech only,” with the board citing the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision last year in Shurtleff v. Boston.
The Palestinian flag flies below the American and POW-MIA flags on the North Andover Common Town flagpole after it was raised on Tuesday, Nov. 14. News 25 Boston The flag was raised following a petition by a local college student who thought it was allowed because an Israeli flag had also flown on the pole. NBC 10 Boston
The 9-0 decision required the select board to make a content-neutral decision on the flag unless the city limits flagpoles to government speech only.
“It is the policy of North Andover (Town) that its flagpole located on the Town Common is not intended to serve as a forum for free speech by the public, but rather as an expression of the official sentiment of the Town,” the updated policy states. .
North Andover is located 30 miles north of Boston, with a population of nearly 31,000 in 2020.
Because Khayal’s request preceded the policy change, the board considered the petition under the old policy and allowed discussion at the Nov. 13 Board of Selectmen meeting, which became a dispute between two groups in the town.
Several people were escorted out of North Andover High School after yelling at the audience during a meeting on Monday.
The North Andover Board of Selectmen signed off on the flag raising permit during a meeting on Monday, November 13, at North Andover High School. NBC 10 Boston Several people were escorted out of North Andover High School after yelling at attendees during a controversial meeting Monday.NBC 10 Boston
The meeting was held a week after its originally scheduled time slot when the board canceled its Nov. 6 meeting due to the threat of litigation, public safety concerns and space constraints.
Some Jewish residents slammed North Andover’s decision to fly the Palestinian flag, claiming it represented “hate” and “terror.”
“Obviously, we are very disappointed with the decision,” Rabbi Idan Irelander told WCVB. “For us in the Jewish community, the Palestinian flag, unfortunately, represents Hamas. It represents hatred, violence, antisemitism because Hamas is the elected party.”
“This is a time of sadness and solidarity with the Palestinian people, and it pulls back the narrative because this flag represents the people, it represents the culture,” said Jenna Khayal, sister of petitioner Selma Khayal. “It is not a terrorist flag, and we will not allow it to be misconstrued as such.”
Some Jewish residents slammed North Andover’s decision to fly the Palestinian flag, claiming it represented “hate” and “terror.” NBC 10 Boston Khayal made the request on Oct. 16, just six hours before the city updated its flag-flying policy. NBC 10 Boston
Police have reportedly been called to the Town Common several times since the flag was raised, forcing the Public Works Department to tie a rope at the top, preventing others from taking the flag down.
The flag is scheduled to fly until Dec. 7, according to the signed permit.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
