Full Breakdown
Detention of Lecturer Over Flag-Emblazoned Kippah Sparks Debate on Freedom of Expression in Israel
4/26/2026, 1:22:40 PM
Detention and Alteration of a Flag-Emblazoned Kippah
On Thursday in Modiin, Alex Sinclair, a 53-year-old lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was stopped while sitting in a café wearing his customary kippah that bears both the Israeli and Palestinian flags. Police officers declared the head covering “against the law,” confiscated his phone, laptop and the kippah, and placed him in a cell for roughly twenty minutes. Upon release, the kippah was returned with the Palestinian flag portion cut out, leaving only the Israeli half. Sinclair posted the incident on Facebook, describing the experience as “surreal” and noting that the ripped kippah “has something so kind of evocative about it.”
Legal Context and Police Authority
Israeli law does not expressly prohibit public display of the Palestinian flag; courts have treated it as protected speech. However, police are authorized to remove symbols they deem “a threat to public order” or linked to a terrorist organization. Since January 2023, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has instructed officers to treat the Palestinian flag as a terrorist symbol and to remove it from public spaces. The policy intensified after the October 7 attacks, granting police broad discretion to confiscate flags and related items.
Key Actors and Groups
- Alex Sinclair – British-born Israeli educator, author, and self-identified peace activist.
- Israel Police (Modiin station) – Executed the detention and alteration; internal investigations division now reviewing the case.
- Itamar Ben-Gvir – National Security Minister whose directives frame the flag crackdown.
- Gilad Kariv – Reform Rabbi and opposition MK, vocal critic of police conduct.
- Yair Golan – Leader of the Democrats Party, condemning the police response.
- Tag Meir – Civil-rights activist group calling the act a violation of expression.
- Hebrew University – Issued a letter denouncing the police action as a breach of freedom of expression.
Official Statements & Responses
The police confirmed they acted after a hotline report about a man wearing a Palestinian flag, stating the individual was “detained following clarification” and that further comment is barred pending an internal investigation. Ben-Gvir has previously labeled the Palestinian flag a terrorist emblem and ordered its removal. Yair Golan posted, “This isn’t just a story about a kippah… it’s a story about the collapse of the Israeli police.” The Hebrew University wrote to the police that it is “troubled by the blatant violation of freedom of expression in the public sphere.”
Criticism & Opposition
Gilad Kariv described the incident as “systemic madness” within the police, urging a criminal investigation and civil lawsuit. Tag Meir labeled the episode “a systemic breakdown” that “violated freedom of expression.” Public commenters echoed the sentiment, noting, “While I don’t agree with your choice of kippa, you have every right to wear it.” Sinclair himself expressed doubt that any written guarantee of safety would be forthcoming, saying, “I’m not holding my breath.”
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Police maintain there is no law banning the Palestinian flag, yet Ben-Gvir’s directive treats the flag as prohibited, creating a legal ambiguity. The internal investigations division has not released findings, and no government official beyond the police has addressed the specific complaint. Consequently, the precise legal basis for the confiscation remains unsettled.
Verbatim Quotes
- “She’d taken my possession, a religious ritual object, something that is very dear to my heart, and destroyed it.” — Alex Sinclair, Lecturer, Hebrew University
- “If police officers had cut off a Jew’s kippa in any other country in the world, there would have been an uproar here in Israel,” — Gilad Kariv, Reform Rabbi & MK
- “This isn't just a story about a kippah that was crudely torn off by police.” — Yair Golan, Democrats Party leader
- “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.” — BBC report on Israeli police powers
- “a written commitment that I can walk around Modiin with it free from harassment. But I’m not holding my breath.” — Alex Sinclair, on expectations for police assurances
