“Take the flag of Israel – and ignore the flags of Palestine”

What was supposed to be a dream weekend of music and vacation in Barcelona, ​​turned for one Israeli tourist into a difficult experience of discrimination and selective enforcement because of one flag she waved. Gal Recher, a Shoham resident, flew to the city with her husband Amir for a concert by the singer Bud Bunny that took place last weekend at the local stadium: “I’ve been a fan since 2017, when no one knew him yet,” says Gal. “As soon as the announcements came out about his world tour last year, I immediately bought a pair of VIP tickets for his European debut, I was excited and counting the days, I was so looking forward to it.”

Gal and her husband arrived many hours before the start of the performance at the stadium in order to take the first line to the stage, equipped with the Israeli flag in their bags. “I didn’t take it to fight or make provocations, I just wanted to get excited and be proud of my country like every other person there comes with a flag of Spain, Colombia or another country.” At one point, she took out the flag, posed for a photo with it, with Palestinian flags and anti-Israel signs in the background. “It didn’t bother me that much, everyone has their own hobbies and I messed with the flag. After that I put it back in the bag, and a few minutes later I caught a nervous and armed Spaniard who signaled for me to come with him, I refused and asked him to explain what the problem was.”

A few minutes later the same security guard returned with another security guard and an Israeli man. “As soon as I heard Hebrew, I felt as if my mother had come to pick me up from kindergarten. He told me that it was forbidden to wave flags at the concert, I smiled and told him that there were more flags in the audience than people, then he corrected himself and said that they were Israeli and Palestinian flags to avoid provocations. So I said I understood and brought the flag to them, he said I would receive it back at the end of the concert.”

But a short time later, Gal noticed a large amount of Palestinian flags raised. “As if they were divided with the capital, it was ridiculous. I have no problem if the enforcement is mutual and for both sides, but as soon as I saw that they were waving the flags without any security intervention, the feeling of ‘protecting me’ instantly turned into a feeling of hypocrisy and selective enforcement.

“I felt a punch in the stomach when I realized that I had been manipulated,” concludes Gal. “I felt that I needed to justify myself or hide who I am and I’m really not that kind of person. I’m a proud Israeli, always will be, and everywhere on the globe. It mainly felt like a sour taste of selective enforcement as if the laws there are flexible for everyone except us.”