logo
Providence's new flag policy isn't just about flags. It's about who gets to be seen, and who is silenced.

Providence's new flag policy isn't just about flags. It's about who gets to be seen, and who is silenced.

Boston Globea day ago

Get Rhode Map
A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State.
Enter Email
Sign Up
One major problem with the new flag policy is inconsistency. There was no need for special approvals before. Why now?
Advertisement
Second, the policy gives too much power to a few. It lets either the mayor or the Providence City Council decide who gets to be represented. This is dangerous because it makes public visibility subject to the comfort of a few officials rather than any clear or fair process.
Third, this move discredits the real message behind raising the Palestinian flag: solidarity with people experiencing deep suffering.
feels
bad to those of us who are part of the Muslim and Arab community. It feels like we are being told our pain is too controversial to acknowledge.
Advertisement
This incident isn't isolated. It reflects a broader pattern known as the 'Palestine Exception' to free speech, where advocacy for Palestinian rights is often met with disproportionate censorship and suppression. A report by
So what should happen now? Either the city allows all communities to be represented through flag-raising, or it stops the practice altogether. There's no middle ground that's fair. The policy must apply equally and without favoritism or fear. If Providence wants to stand for diversity, it must stand for
all
of us, not just the ones who make people comfortable.
If the city is serious about equity, it needs to
show
it — not just
say
it.
Khaled Soulaiman is a first-generation Syrian Lebanese Muslim and a student at College Unbound in Providence.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway sanction 2 far-right Israeli Cabinet ministers

time16 minutes ago

UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway sanction 2 far-right Israeli Cabinet ministers

JERUSALEM -- Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway said Tuesday they have imposed sanctions on two far-right Israeli government ministers for allegedly 'inciting extremist violence' against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich face asset freezes and travel bans from the five countries. The ministers are champions of expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The decision by Western governments friendly to Israel was a sharp rebuke of Israel's settlement policies in the West Bank and of settler violence, which has spiked since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack ignited the war in the Gaza Strip. The five countries' foreign ministers said in a joint statement that Ben-Gvir and Smotrich 'have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights. Extremist rhetoric advocating the forced displacement of Palestinians and the creation of new Israeli settlements is appalling and dangerous.' Israel's Foreign Ministry said earlier it had been informed of the sanctions. Smotrich, the country's finance minister, wrote on social media that he found out that Britain had decided to sanction him for obstructing the viability of a Palestinian state. 'We are determined to continue building,' he said. 'We overcame Pharoah, we'll overcome Starmer's Wall.' Ben-Gvir, the national security minister, wrote on social media. Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the move 'outrageous.' He said he had discussed it with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and they would meet next week to discuss Israel's response. The Biden administration took the rare step of sanctioning radical Israeli settlers implicated in violence in the occupied West Bank — sanctions that were then lifted by President Donald Trump. Eitay Mack, an Israeli human rights lawyer who spent years campaigning for the sanctions on Smotrich and Ben-Gvir — along with violent West Bank settlers — described the move as 'historic.' 'It means the wall of immunity that Israeli politicians had has been broken," he said. 'It's unbelievable that it took so long for Western governments to sanction Israeli politicians, and the fact that it's being done while Trump is president is quite amazing,' said Mack. "It is a message to Netanyahu himself that he could be next." Israel captured the West Bank along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want those territories for their hoped-for future state. Settlement growth and construction have been promoted by successive Israeli governments stretching back decades, but it has exploded under Netanyahu's far-right coalition, which has settlers in key Cabinet posts. There are now well over 100 settlements and 500,000 Israeli settlers sprawling across the territory from north to south — a reality, rights groups say, dimming any hopes for an eventual two-state solution.

UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway sanction 2 far-right Israeli Cabinet ministers
UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway sanction 2 far-right Israeli Cabinet ministers

The Hill

time31 minutes ago

  • The Hill

UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway sanction 2 far-right Israeli Cabinet ministers

JERUSALEM (AP) — Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway said Tuesday they have imposed sanctions on two far-right Israeli government ministers for allegedly 'inciting extremist violence' against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich face asset freezes and travel bans from the five countries. The ministers are champions of expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The decision by Western governments friendly to Israel was a sharp rebuke of Israel's settlement policies in the West Bank and of settler violence, which has spiked since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack ignited the war in the Gaza Strip. The five countries' foreign ministers said in a joint statement that Ben-Gvir and Smotrich 'have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights. Extremist rhetoric advocating the forced displacement of Palestinians and the creation of new Israeli settlements is appalling and dangerous.' Israel's Foreign Ministry said earlier it had been informed of the sanctions. Smotrich, the country's finance minister, wrote on social media that he found out that Britain had decided to sanction him for obstructing the viability of a Palestinian state. 'We are determined to continue building,' he said. 'We overcame Pharoah, we'll overcome Starmer's Wall.' Ben-Gvir, the national security minister, wrote on social media. Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the move 'outrageous.' He said he had discussed it with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and they would meet next week to discuss Israel's response. The Biden administration took the rare step of sanctioning radical Israeli settlers implicated in violence in the occupied West Bank — sanctions that were then lifted by President Donald Trump. Eitay Mack, an Israeli human rights lawyer who spent years campaigning for the sanctions on Smotrich and Ben-Gvir — along with violent West Bank settlers — described the move as 'historic.' 'It means the wall of immunity that Israeli politicians had has been broken,' he said. 'It's unbelievable that it took so long for Western governments to sanction Israeli politicians, and the fact that it's being done while Trump is president is quite amazing,' said Mack. 'It is a message to Netanyahu himself that he could be next.' Israel captured the West Bank along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want those territories for their hoped-for future state. Settlement growth and construction have been promoted by successive Israeli governments stretching back decades, but it has exploded under Netanyahu's far-right coalition, which has settlers in key Cabinet posts. There are now well over 100 settlements and 500,000 Israeli settlers sprawling across the territory from north to south — a reality, rights groups say, dimming any hopes for an eventual two-state solution. ___ AP Correspondent Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway sanction 2 far-right Israeli Cabinet ministers
UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway sanction 2 far-right Israeli Cabinet ministers

Hamilton Spectator

time33 minutes ago

  • Hamilton Spectator

UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway sanction 2 far-right Israeli Cabinet ministers

JERUSALEM (AP) — Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway said Tuesday they have imposed sanctions on two far-right Israeli government ministers for allegedly 'inciting extremist violence' against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich face asset freezes and travel bans from the five countries. The ministers are champions of expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The decision by Western governments friendly to Israel was a sharp rebuke of Israel's settlement policies in the West Bank and of settler violence, which has spiked since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack ignited the war in the Gaza Strip. The five countries' foreign ministers said in a joint statement that Ben-Gvir and Smotrich 'have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights. Extremist rhetoric advocating the forced displacement of Palestinians and the creation of new Israeli settlements is appalling and dangerous.' Israel's Foreign Ministry said earlier it had been informed of the sanctions. Smotrich, the country's finance minister, wrote on social media that he found out that Britain had decided to sanction him for obstructing the viability of a Palestinian state. 'We are determined to continue building,' he said. 'We overcame Pharoah, we'll overcome Starmer's Wall.' Ben-Gvir, the national security minister, wrote on social media. Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the move 'outrageous.' He said he had discussed it with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and they would meet next week to discuss Israel's response. The Biden administration took the rare step of sanctioning radical Israeli settlers implicated in violence in the occupied West Bank — sanctions that were then lifted by President Donald Trump . Eitay Mack, an Israeli human rights lawyer who spent years campaigning for the sanctions on Smotrich and Ben-Gvir — along with violent West Bank settlers — described the move as 'historic.' 'It means the wall of immunity that Israeli politicians had has been broken,' he said. 'It's unbelievable that it took so long for Western governments to sanction Israeli politicians, and the fact that it's being done while Trump is president is quite amazing,' said Mack. 'It is a message to Netanyahu himself that he could be next.' Israel captured the West Bank along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want those territories for their hoped-for future state. Settlement growth and construction have been promoted by successive Israeli governments stretching back decades, but it has exploded under Netanyahu's far-right coalition, which has settlers in key Cabinet posts. There are now well over 100 settlements and 500,000 Israeli settlers sprawling across the territory from north to south — a reality, rights groups say, dimming any hopes for an eventual two-state solution. ___ AP Correspondent Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store