Ink Flag

The Ink Flag (Hebrew: דֶּגֶל הַדְּיוֹ, Degel HaDyo) was a handmade Israeli flag raised in March 1949 during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War to mark the capture of Umm Rashrash. The flag’s display in what later became the city of Eilat was replaced two hours later by an official flag when the Golani Brigade arrived.^[1]

History

On 5 March 1949, Israel launched Operation Uvda, the last military maneuver of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. On 10 March, 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 Captain (later General) Avraham Adan, company commander of the 8th Battalion of the Negev Brigade.^[2]

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.^[3]

In Eilat, a bronze sculpture by Israeli sculptor Daniel Kafri^[4] commemorates the event, unveiled on 28 February 1996. This historical place was already declared a National Heritage Site on 19 January 1994. The photo of the raising of the Ink Flag, taken by the soldier Micha Perry, bears resemblance to the 1945 American photo Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.^[5]