I was out on a run this morning and I noticed on Sderot haYarqon that while many apartments had Israeli flags hanging from their windows and porches, there were very few Israeli flags hanging in the street itself in the flag-slots of the lampposts. Every single lamppost had a flag of the City of Bet Shemesh, but on the entire street I only saw 2 Israeli flags - one near the top of the street and one near the bottom of the street - while the rest of the lampposts were left empty on the Israeli flag side.

I have been told that around the city similar situations can be found. While some areas have Israeli flags, other areas have been left bare of the Israeli flags, while the city flag can be found everywhere. To be fair, the City of Bet Shemesh did install the flags in some areas where they were later removed by residents hostile to the presence of the flag.

People who have called the Iryah to complain about the lack of flags have been given a variety of excuses, including that it is a shame to place flags where they will just be burned down. I have no problem with that, and I am fine with the iryah being sensitive to certain areas where people are more hostile and would burn the flags. That does not absolve them of placing, or replacing, the flags in areas where residents are not hostile in that way.

As an individual, anybody can believe what they want. You have the right to be anti-flag, while your neighbor has the right to be pro-flag. The city, on the other hand, does not have such a right. I think it is a busha, an embarrassment, that, as a city, on public grounds, the flags are not flying in full force for Independence Day. It does not matter what I, or you, personally think of the flag - the City, any and every Jewish city in Israel, should be proud and patriotic, and should be flying the Israeli flag.

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