When Sinclair insisted there was nothing illegal about sporting a Palestinian flag, he threatened to call the police.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the past twenty years, almost, I\u2019ve worn a kippah that has both the Israeli flag and the Palestinian flag on it. The reasons behind the kippah are long and complex and related to the messy ambivalence of my Jewish-Zionist identity,\u201d Sinclair wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut then, five minutes later, the police arrive. Two officers, and they immediately tell me that my kippah is against the law and that they are going to confiscate it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tGet The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
\n\t\t\tby email and never miss our top stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n Displaying a Palestinian flag is not illegal, but police regularly confiscate flags at protests, claiming they disturb the peace. \u201cNow it was being banned from my head, my kippah, my religious identity itself,\u201d Sinclair said.<\/p>\n \t Sinclair was then detained and taken to the local police station after refusing to have it confiscated.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter about 20 long minutes they opened the cell, and told me to follow them to the front of the police station. There, at the front door, they shoved my backpack into my arms and told me to go \u2013 without my kippah,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n After demanding it be returned, an officer returned the head covering with the Palestinian flag cut out.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019d taken my possession, a religious ritual object, something that is very dear to my heart, and destroyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n Sinclair, who filed a complaint with the Department of Internal Police Investigations (DIPI), said he also requested the police compensate him and provide \u201ca written commitment that I can walk around Modiin with it free from harassment. But I\u2019m not holding my breath.\u201d<\/p>\n Police, in a response, confirmed the incident, saying that they had responded to a report of a man wearing a Palestinian flag and had detained him.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter an investigation, he was released,\u201d police said in a statement, adding that since a complaint had been filed with DIPI, they could not further comment on the case.<\/p>\n Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has led a push to outlaw flying the Palestinian flag and in 2023 tried to order police to enforce a blanket ban on displaying the Palestinian flag.<\/p>\n However, police are said to have disregarded that directive and to have told him there was no legal basis to confiscate the flags as long as no incitement was taking place.<\/p>\n Police have wide leeway to take action to maintain public order and regularly remove flags from public spaces and confiscate flags and images of Palestinian flags from those displaying them.<\/p>\n In March, a woman was arrested for a Facebook post in 2016 where she was\u00a0seen posing with her two eldest children while holding a Palestinian flag.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t You clearly find our careful reporting of the Iran war valuable, at a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.<\/p>\n Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically during this ongoing conflict.<\/p>\n So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you’ll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing\u00a0exclusive content\u00a0available only to Times of Israel Community members.<\/p>\n Thank you, \t\t\t
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/33CC2ZT-highres-640x400.jpg\")
\n\t\tProtesters wave Palestinian flags during a demonstration marking the annual Land Day in the northern Arab-Israeli town of Sakhnin on March 30, 2023 (AHMAD GHARABLI \/ AFP)<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tYou appreciate our wartime journalism\t\t\t<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776896609_875_DH-new-headshot-circular-200x200.png\" "\\"\\"\/")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n