Ink Flag

Raising of the Ink Flag. The man on the pole is Avraham Adan.

The Ink Flag (Hebrew: דֶּגֶל הַדְּיוֹ‎, Degel HaDyo) was a handmade Israeli flag raised during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War to mark the capture of Umm Rashrash.

History

On March 5, 1949, Israel launched Operation Uvda, the last military maneuver of the war. On March 10, the Israeli Defense Forces reached the shores of the Red Sea at Umm Rashrash, west of Aqaba in the area of biblical Elath, and captured it without a battle. The Negev Brigade and Golani Brigade took part in the operation. A makeshift flag created from a white sheet inscribed with ink was raised by Avraham Adan, company commander of the 8th Battalion of the Negev Brigade.

The improvised flag was made on the order of Negev Brigade commander Nahum Sarig, when it was discovered that the brigade did not have an Israeli flag on hand. The soldiers found a sheet, drew two ink stripes, and sewed on a Star of David torn off a first-aid kit.

In Eilat, a bronze sculpture by Israeli sculptor Bernard Reder commemorates the event. The photo of the raising of the Ink Flag, taken by the soldier Micha Perry, bears resemblance to the raising of the American flag at Iwo Jima.

Gallery

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  Modern reconstruction of the Ink Flag

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  Close-up of the man on the pole

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  Commemorative sculpture by Bernard Reder

External links

• Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Speech on Eilat Day - 56 Years Since the Raising of the Ink Flag, March 20th, 2005