The Jerusalem Municipality on Sunday took down images of the Ukrainian and Russian flags alongside doves of peace hours after they were first projected on the walls of the Old City.
The move followed outrage by officials and activists who claimed it created a false moral equivalence linking the warring nations.
Between the two flags was an image of two white doves and the biblical verse: “He who makes peace in the heavens,” and the words “we’re waiting for you.”
The city released a statement saying that it was ready to take up Ukrainian President Voldomyr Zelensky’s proposal that Jerusalem serve as the host for peace negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow.
However, following condemnation both online and from municipal officials and activists, the projection was removed.
“You sometimes have to know how to be politically smart,” said Jerusalem City Council opposition leader Ofer Berkovitch. “But do not distort reality, evil is evil and the aggressor is the aggressor. It is impossible to put the attacker and the attacked together. This is an injustice and harmful to thousands of victims. Jerusalem can be a city of peace and host a summit that will prevent war, but Jerusalem is first and foremost a city of justice.”
“In this terrible war, there is a very clear aggressor — Russia — and a very clear victim — Ukraine,” said Laura Wharton, a member of city management..
People lift placards and Ukrainian flags during a protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, outside the Knesset building in Jerusalem, on February 28, 2022. (AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty)
One Twitter user said it was akin to “projecting the Nazi flag along with the Israeli flag on the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and calling for peace between the two sides.”
The municipality said it hoped that a diplomatic solution would be reached to end the conflict.
“Jerusalem, the State of Israel’s capital, is a city of peace and coexistence. We are in favor of an end to the fighting and the sides reaching understandings,” the municipality said in a statement. “We would be happy to answer the request of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, and host the diplomatic dialogue between the two countries here in Jerusalem.”
The city of Tel Aviv, meanwhile, projected a Ukrainian flag on the municipality building in solidarity with the embattled country.
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