Astonishingly, the Providence, Rhode Island, City Council will be raising a Palestinian flag over City Hall on Friday, May 16, and they have invited the public to attend.
The invitation, posted on X, reads: “You’re invited to a Palestinian flag raising at City Hall this Friday, May 16! Elected officials and community members will deliver remarks on the steps out front at 12 pm. Join us!”
The Newport Buzz reported:
The announcement comes as the Palestinian flag has already been placed inside the City Council Chamber — positioned prominently next to the City Council dais.Mayor Brett Smiley has given the green light for the flag to fly over City Hall, making Providence one of the first U.S. cities to publicly raise the Palestinian flag during the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
The invitation triggered outrage from community members, local leaders, and advocacy groups who viewed the event as offensive and deeply divisive—especially given the ongoing hostilities in the Middle East.
Frankly, I was surprised—but encouraged—by the intensity of the public backlash. Providence may be a deep-blue city in a deep-blue state, but even for them, this went too far.
Local media outlet, GoLocalProv, reported that the “Palestinian flag is just about everywhere in Providence City Hall these days.”
On Wednesday, GoLocal received an email from the City Council’s new communications director, Marc Boyd, which read:
Council President Miller received a request from the community to raise the Palestinian flag tomorrow, [SIC] Thursday, May 15. As we do for many countries, cultures, and celebrations throughout the year, the flag will be up for the day of the event. It will be taken down in the evening, and used for a flag raising from City Hall, approved by Mayor Smiley and the Dept. of Public Property, at 12 pm on Friday, May 16. All are welcome to attend.
GoLocal learned that a nearly identical email was sent to City Council members at the same time—the only difference being the signature. The version sent to City Council members was signed by Chief of Staff June Rose, who has been arrested twice during protests, most recently at Trump Tower in March.
Just in case you wanted to learn something about Rose, here he is:
GoLocal reached out to Mayor Smiley for a comment. He responded by email, “At the request of the City Council and two constituents, the City is flying the Palestinian flag.”
Two constituents. It’s remarkable that the City Council is willing to offend 190,790 constituents to appease two.
Smiley’s spokesman, Josh Estrella, replied, “The Mayor’s office was informed that City Council will be hosting a flag raising ceremony outside of City Hall in a public space on Friday. We have Palestinian American residents of Providence and are happy to celebrate their culture, as we do with many other communities. We hope that we can use opportunities like this to help foster thoughtful dialogue and unity, and that it is not used for divisiveness.”
Did Estrella truly expect this event to foster thoughtful dialogue and unity? I doubt it. Either way, the reaction to the invitation was overwhelmingly negative. Here are just a few of the responses:
Please click here to see the rest.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on LinkedIn or X.
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