Raising of the Ink Flag

Commemorative sculpture by Bernard Reder

The Ink Flag (Hebrew: דגל הדיו‎) was a handmade Israeli flag raised during the Israeli War of Independence to mark the capture of Eilat.

On March 5, 1949, Israel launched Operation Ovda. On March 10, the Israeli Defense Forces reached Umm Rashrash, west of Aqaba (the biblical Elath), and captured it without a battle. The Negev Brigade and Golani Brigade took part in the operation. To symbolize their victory, they raised a makeshift flag created from a white sheet and a bottle of ink.^[1]

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.^[2]

In Eilat, a bronze sculpture by Israeli sculptor Bernard Reder commemorates the event.^[1] The famous photo of the raising of the Ink Flag has been compared to the raising of the American flag at Iwo Jima.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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