Yesterday, North Andover approved a permit to raise a Palestinian flag on the town common. This decision sparked both support and opposition among the residents. The flag was hoisted on Tuesday morning and will stay until December 7. It joins the Israeli flag that has been flying since early October, according to Boston 25 News.
The choice to fly the Palestinian flag follows weeks of deliberation, as reported by NBC Boston. After the Israeli flag was raised in response to attacks on Israel by Hamas, a North Andover resident studying at Bentley University, originating from Egypt and of Muslim faith, requested to fly the Palestinian flag for a month.
At the meeting, locals voiced both agreement and disagreement over flying the Palestinian flag. Proponents argued that the Palestinians should have the same right to fly their flag in the town common, similar to Israel, as reported by Boston 25 News. However, some view the Palestinian flag as a symbol of hatred.
The town manager, Melissa Rodrigues, specified that the request to raise the Palestinian flag came on October 16, a mere six hours before the town updated their flag policy. "The prior flag policy allowed a resident to apply to fly a flag on the Town's flagpole, rendering the flagpole a public forum," she said. Rodrigues added that the new policy restricts the flag's usage to official governmental statements only.
