Ireland's incendiary "flag wars"

Another interpretation of this connection, and one replete with religious elements, was explained to me by my American friend studying in Belfast, who said that some Protestants align with Israel because they, too, identify themselves as members of one of the Lost Tribes of Israel who continue to be persecuted -- in this case, they believe, by Catholics.

But comparing the Catholic-Protestant conflict with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict gives rise to another, more obvious interpretation -- one that most Israelis, Jews and Northern Ireland Protestants would surely be unhappy with. The ancestors of today's Irish Protestants are seen by many to have been colonialists, foreigners who took Ireland in the name of the British royal crown. And so too, there are some who see many of today's Jewish Israelis as descendants of colonialists: namely, the early Zionists who moved to what was then called Palestine in hopes of creating a Jewish state.

Gallagher points out that while the Israeli flag phenomenon is new on the streets of Protestant neighborhoods, many Irish Catholics have aligned themselves with Palestinians for decades. They have not only placed Palestinian flags alongside Republic of Ireland flags in countless Belfast neighborhoods, but in some of their famous building-sized murals they have also featured Gerry Adams with the likes of Yasser Arafat as well as Nelson Mandela. One famous mural even depicted an IRA affiliate standing next to a PLO affiliate with the overhead slogan "Two Nations, One Struggle." Even today, if one visits the Northern Ireland Sinn Fein headquarters in West Belfast, Gerry Adams' main office, one will find a large Palestinian flag hanging next to that of Ireland.

Gallagher believes that Catholic organizations such as Sinn Fein have had "a general orientation to support groups which they would see as representing oppressed people engaged in liberation struggles against more powerful states. Probably the most overt contacts are between Sinn Fein and Henri Batasuna, the radical Basque group."

He also added that "as far as I can recall, the first time that Palestinian flags appeared with any frequency in Nationalist, or Catholic, areas of Belfast was during the siege of Beirut [20 years ago]. At that time, however, this did not result in any comparable flying of Israeli flags in Loyalist, or Protestant, areas of the city." So, Gallagher theorizes, Palestinian flags have probably begun to reappear in Catholic neighborhoods in response to the Israeli flags, which, of course, may have been raised partly in reaction to the Palestinian flags. And more flags on both sides have gone up recently because of the Palestinian intifada that began in the fall of 2000.

But the flag-raising and graffiti are limited, he says. "Most people in Northern Ireland are and were horrified at the results of violence here and, I have no doubt, feel equal horror at the results of all the violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Throughout most of Northern Ireland there is no use of Israeli or Palestinian flags at all." So far, he contends, the escalating "flag war" is contained within a fringe minority.

Perhaps it can be best understood through an explanation by Ruarai McKenna, a 21-year-old Catholic student at Queen's University. McKenna told me that just as the Protestant connection with Israel is rudimentary, so too is the bond between Catholics and Palestinians. "The Catholics that have made this alignment have not done this out of a justification of PLO actions, such as the current suicide bombings of Israelis, but have connected with similar issues in identity." Maybe it shouldn't be interpreted any deeper than that, as a political identification meant to inflame. But it certainly seems to accomplish that.

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