Providence mayor signs order setting new rules after Palestinian flag controversy
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The mayor's office quickly crafted the policy this week after
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Smiley called it 'divisive,' while Council President Rachel Miller, who requested to raise the flag, said it was meant to celebrate Palestinian cultural contributions.
'I know that it is a very heated topic,' Miller said last week. 'The message is that we all have a right to exist in the city of Providence, and we all make contributions to the city of Providence.'
Smiley traveled to Israel earlier this month, and the request from Miller to raise the Palestinian flag came in while he was there. He said he felt he had to approve it based on Providence's lack of policy.
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The full council did not vote on the decision to fly the flag, and some councilors objected to it.
Around 200 people attended the rally at the flag event: those celebrating that Palestinians were being recognized and counter-protesters who decried the decision to raise the flag as appearing to glorify Hamas, the terror group that governs Gaza.
The new order was crafted with a
In its opinion, the high court said since Boston didn't have a written policy about flags, and the city routinely approved hundreds of flag requests — including one from a local bank — it was allowing its flagpole to be a forum for private free speech.
But the court noted that a city could have a policy declaring its flagpole to be a forum for 'government speech,' and then the government could approve or deny flags based on the content of the flag.
The legal issue has continued to plague towns and cities since the decision came down. A
Smiley's new order says the eastern flagpole, which juts out in front of Providence City Hall, is 'not intended to serve as a forum of free expression by the public.' The Pride flag is expected to be the next ceremonial flag to be raised.
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It's unclear if the Palestinian flag would be allowed to fly again under the new order. Since Smiley has said he would not approve it, it would need to survive a vote by the City Council.
In an email sent out by the Rhode Island Democratic Party on Friday, Smiley said it was time to 'turn down the temperature' on the Israel-Palestinian debate, following the
'Providence's Jewish community is strong and vibrant - but we are also frightened,' Smiley said. 'We can all agree that the loss and destruction on both sides is devastating. We can all agree that de-escalation and dialogue is necessary for a path to peace. And we can all agree that we cannot - we must not - let this conflict halfway around the world breed further division, hate, and violence in our own backyard.'
Steph Machado can be reached at
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