Palestinian flag raising ceremony in Clifton brings hundreds of cheering supporters
BY ANDREW WYRICH
NORTH JERSEY.COM
Hundreds of people cheered loudly on the lawn in front of City Hall on Sunday afternoon as the city joined a handful of North Jersey municipalities in raising the Palestinian flag.
Those in attendance waved miniature American and Palestinian flags above their heads and cheered city officials, who helped add Clifton to the growing number of northern New Jersey towns that have had flag raising ceremonies honoring Palestinian Americans. Paterson will hold its fourth annual flag raising in May and North Bergen hosted a flag raising last month.
“This is about pride, the flag means a lot to the Palestinian people,” said Ken Abuassab, the founder of the American Arab Civic Organization, adding that he is working to add another municipality to the list of those honoring the Palestinian people with flag raisings next year.
The ceremony, which was co-sponsored by the Palestinian American Community Center and the Arab American Civic Organization, was a lively affair. Children laughed and scrambled across the lawn flying large Palestinian flags, and people were decked from head to toe in green, white, black and red clothing.
Women garbed in colorful hijabs and embroidered dresses and men in keffiyehs also excitedly tossed up the flags during songs that were blared over loudspeakers.
Several Clifton officials, organizational leaders and other organizers spoke before the flag raising – which they called “momentous and historic.”
Members of the Clifton Board of Education, city council, and members of both the Palestinian American Community Center and the Arab American Civic Organization gave speeches before the raising of the flag. One board member of the Palestinian American Community Center, who was a native of Clifton, said her grandparents, who emigrated from Palestine in the 1960s, would not believe that the flag would be flying at City Hall, but would be proud of how far their community had come and how deep its roots had grown in the area.
“Raising the Palestinian flag in the places you live and reside is something we are proud of,” said Raed Odeh, the board director of the Palestinian American Community Center, before the ceremony. “We are thankful to the city of Clifton, this is something that really means a lot to us.”
The ceremony started with a brief moment of silence for those who had lost their lives “in pursuit of freedom,” but quickly shifted into more of a celebration. Members of the Neturei Karta, an anti-Zionist organization made up of Orthodox Jewish men, also showed support at the flag raising.
Councilwoman Lauren Murphy, who organizers said was instrumental in helping secure the flag raising, said it was obvious the flag should be raised because Palestinians have become a major part of the Clifton community. The Palestinian flag raising will now be among several that the city holds each year, city officials said.
“I’m supportive of them as a group – they deserve to be treated with respect by the city,” she said.
The crowd, while loud throughout the event, only grew louder when the flag was ultimately raised, drowning out the singing over the loudspeaker. Hundreds of people cheered and snapped photos of the flag as it flew high above the lawn in front of city hall.
Mahoud Alan, of Paterson, stood in the back of the ceremony as his family waved flags and cheered closer to the flag. He said it was nice to see his heritage and culture gain approval in municipalities across North Jersey.
“It’s smaller than Paterson, but this is a good idea,” he said, “We have Paterson and now North Bergen and Clifton. It’s great.”
Source: www.northjersey.com