Story perspectives

Police Detain Sinclair, Remove Palestinian Flag from Kippa

4/26/2026

Summary

Story summary

Police detained Alex Sinclair because his kippa with Israeli and Palestinian flags violated the law.
Police returned the kippa after cutting out the Palestinian flag, destroying part of the head covering.
The Justice Ministry opened an investigation while the internal investigations division refused to release details.
The Hebrew University condemned the action in a strongly worded letter.
MK Gilad Kariv and leader Yair Golan demanded criminal and civil proceedings.

History

Historical Context

In 2015 Israel’s Supreme Court, in a 7-2 ruling led by Justice Elyakim Rubinstein, applied the 2000 anti-racism law to uphold a ban on public Nazi symbols, allowing fines of up to 10,000 shekels. The decision echoes European bans such as Latvia’s 2013 prohibition and the 2009 EISCA report warning that Nazi analogies to Israel fuel antisemitic discourse.

1 of 2

Story summary

Police detained Alex Sinclair because his kippa with Israeli and Palestinian flags violated the law.
Police returned the kippa after cutting out the Palestinian flag, destroying part of the head covering.
The Justice Ministry opened an investigation while the internal investigations division refused to release details.
The Hebrew University condemned the action in a strongly worded letter.
MK Gilad Kariv and leader Yair Golan demanded criminal and civil proceedings.

1 / 2