Empire State Building causes confusion with illumination of Italian flag on Columbus Day – with some mistaking it for Palestinian – while White House in DC illuminates Israeli flag
- On Monday night, the Empire State Building was lit up in red, white and green to commemorate Italian Heritage/Indigenous Peoples Day
- The choice of lighting led to some confusion, with some misinterpreting the colors as those of the Palestinian flag, which share identical colors.
- The Empire State Building was lit up in blue and white, the colors of Israel’s flag, over the weekend, while the White House was also in similar colors on Monday
The choice of lighting on the Empire State Building on Monday night appeared to cause some confusion, with some mistaking the lights for those of the Palestinian flag, which shares identical colors to Italy’s.
In a tweet, the Empire State Building said the choice of colors was red, white and green Monday night to celebrate Italian Heritage/Indigenous Peoples Day.
But the shared similarities in the colors of the flags of Italy and Palestine are not lost on those on X.
“Unfortunate optics/colors right now,” wrote Fox journalist Kassy Dillon.
On Monday night, the Empire State Building was lit up in red, white and green to commemorate Italian Heritage/Indigenous Peoples Day
The choice of lighting led to some confusion, with some misinterpreting the colors as those of the Palestinian flag, which share identical colors.
Several users on social media were not impressed with the choice of colors on Monday evening
‘My God. They need to change those lights now. Same colors as Palestine. Not a good time for that,’ noted history teacher Kelly Norton.
“I’m going to stick my neck out and say it’s no accident,” one user wrote.
“Oh, oh that’s a shame,” adds another.
The Jewish population in New York is the largest in the world outside of Israel, with 1.77 million Jews living across the city according to 2023 data.
The Empire State Building was lit up in blue and white on Saturday night, the colors of Israel’s flag in support of the country.
It was a similar story in Washington DC with the White House also lit up in blue and white to underline American solidarity with Israel.
The White House is lit in blue and white to underscore American solidarity with Israel
People stand with an Israeli flag outside the White House, which was lit up in blue and white on Monday night
The White House will be lit up in the blue and white colors of the Israeli flag on Monday
Over the weekend, the Empire State Building was lit up in blue and white in solidarity with Israel
The Empire State Building illuminated in the colors of the flag of Israel as seen from New Jersey
A number of other buildings on the New York skyline are bathed in blue light