In brief
Alex Sinclair, a 53-year-old British Israeli academic, was detained by Israeli police in Modiin for wearing a kippah featuring the Israeli and Palestinian flags. He was ordered to surrender his kippah, which police later returned with the Palestinian flag cut off. This unusual incident has attracted both domestic and international attention, raising discussions about the limitations on freedom of expression in Israel, especially amid recent police directives targeting public displays of Palestinian symbols. Sinclair intends to seek compensation for the damage to his kippah and plans to order a new one with both flags.
A British Israeli academic has told the BBC of his shock at being detained by Israeli police for wearing a Jewish kippah, or head covering, embroidered with an Israeli and a Palestinian flag.
Alex Sinclair, 53, said he was taken from the cafe where he was sitting near his home in Modiin, central Israel, on Monday, ordered to hand over his kippah and locked in a cell.
He said when the item was returned to him, the part with the Palestinian flag had been cut off.
The unusual case has gained domestic and international attention after Sinclair shared the details in a social media post. Police told the BBC a complaint has been filed with their internal investigations division.
Sinclair, who is also a novelist, was working on his laptop in the cafe when, he said, a religious man came over to me with an angry face and shouted at me that my kippah is against the law.
He said he invited the man to sit down to discuss his views, but he refused and said he would call the police. Five minutes later, the police arrive, he wrote on Facebook. Two officers, and they immediately tell me that my kippah is against the law and that they are going to confiscate it.
Sinclair said he tried to explain politely that his kippah was not illegal but was taken into detention and driven by police car to the police station. He said he was forced to hand over his possessions and unable to make a phone call. Sinclair said he was then frisked and locked in a cell.
Twenty minutes later, Sinclair said, he was told he could leave but without his kippah. He said when he insisted on it being given back, the officer handed it to him with the Palestinian flag cut out. Sinclair called the incident surreal.
Sinclair reflected on the photo of the ripped kippah, describing it as evocative. In a statement, Israeli police said officers had attended the scene to assess and address a report on a hotline about a man wearing a kippah with a Palestinian flag.
There is no explicit Israeli law banning public displays of the Palestinian flag. While Israeli courts have viewed it as a protected form of expression, Israeli police are authorised to remove or confiscate them if they are deemed a threat to public order or identifying with a terrorist organisation.
Sinclair regularly wore his kippah with the Israeli and Palestinian flags on a black background over the past 20 years, stating it represents his "Jewish-Zionist identity". His sentiment encapsulates a longing for peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians. He expressed his desire to order a new kippah with both flags, hoping it might inspire others.
