The protest against the Israeli flag during the school play
Palestinian parents were outraged Thursday after a sixth-grade student waved an Israeli flag as part of a school play.
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The incident took place in the Roasry Convent school in East Jerusalem in the Beit Hanina neighborhood, where parents protested against the flag holding despite the pleas of the staff and an attempt to calm the situation.
The police were also called to the scene due to the commotion, and officers remained at the school to prevent further disturbances.
The school explained that "the students at the graduation ceremony presented issues and hardships faced by 136 countries around the world, through a ballet dance performed to the background song 'The War is Over Now,' whose lyrics depict the conflict between war and peace, and between good and evil.
Therefore, the girls presented flags of countries that have disputes between them, such as Russia and Ukraine, the U.S. and North Korea, and Israel and Palestine. The dance concluded with the lowering of all the flags and the raising of the Palestinian flag." However, the parents were angry that a flag was used in the performance at all, and they argued that an Israeli flag has never been allowed into an Arab school in Jerusalem.
The parents association of Arab schools in Jerusalem issued a message to the parents of the students, condemning the performance and adding that "this is irresponsible behavior that reflects a lack of loyalty to the homeland, and we demand that the school apologize immediately to the Jerusalemites and Palestinians. We also call on the authorities in Jerusalem to fulfill their duty and condemn this action, which was decided upon by the school administration."
"We salute the parents who attended the ceremony for their proud stance in rejecting what happened and for demanding the immediate removal of the occupation flag from the ceremony, and they received what they requested."
The association called on the responsible council to take action and dismiss Ibrahim Faltas, the director of the schools of the Custody of the Holy Land under the Franciscan Order. Additionally, they called for the dismissal of the school principal, whom they claim allowed the display of the flag.