In honor of Independence Day, Akko's municipal youth council initiated a project which will bring the city's Arab and Jewish communities together. After long months of planning and preparation, a huge flag – made of 64,000 corks – now hangs on the walls of City Hall.
The giant flag was the focal point of the city's preparation for Independence Day celebrations. It was prepared by Jewish and Arab children and retirees with the assistance of the city's community centers. One of project's organizers, Roee Widler told Ynet that over 120 corks were collected.
"The best part was to see the cooperation between Jews Arabs, youths and elderly, secular and religious from all over the city. We had five-year old children and 90-year old adults tie the corks together," he said.
Joint cooperation of Jews and Arabs (Photo: Vadim Daniel)
Organizers also said that since most corks are blue, some had to be painted white for the flag's white background. The corks were tied to a huge net which was then hung.
"We had two goals going into this project: To increase awareness to the importance of recycling and encouraging cooperation between
the different communities of the city," Widler said.
When the flag was completed, minutes before it was hung, organizers removed 10 corks in honor of the seven missing IDF soldiers and the three soldiers kidnapped during the Second Lebanon War. Organizers said that the corks will be reattached to the flag when the captured are safely home and the missing soldiers found.
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