- The flag will fly over the town of North Andover until December 7
- Student Selma Khayal, 19, requested it on Oct. 16 before the rules changed
- Her family says it’s their “First Amendment right” to let it fly
A handful of local politicians in a small Massachusetts town have stoked outrage by agreeing to a request to fly the Palestinian flag over the town for fear of upsetting a 19-year-old student who demanded it.
The North Andover City Council on Monday night agreed to a request from student Selma Khayal, who six hours before the city changed its rules, appealed to them to prevent anyone from requesting to fly a flag over the community.
But for fear of saying no to her and risking a lawsuit, and despite the protests of local Jewish residents, the board agreed.
Now the flag will remain there for a whole month.
The North Andover City Council agreed to the request after much public debate
University student Selma Khayal submitted the request in writing on October 16
The Palestinian flag was raised over the town of North Andover on Tuesday
After a ‘heated’ meeting on Monday evening, the flag was raised
Selma’s sister Jenna spoke at the town hall meeting Monday night where the issue was discussed.
She said the flag was neither hateful nor a “terrorist flag.”
‘No one should protest against the flag of another nation. We live in a free country, this is our first amendment.
“We won’t let anyone take that from us, and we won’t let anyone else take that away either,” Jenna told NBC Boston.
Selma, a finance student at Bentley University, has not spoken publicly since filing the request.
Selma’s sister Jenna spoke on her behalf at the town meeting Monday night
Jenna said the flag would not be ‘misinterpreted as a terrorist flag’
Her sister spoke on her behalf at the communal meeting, emphasizing that the flag represents nothing other than “peace” and the Palestinian people.
The limited council said in its concession that they had to agree to the request because it was submitted before a change in local law.
Before the rule change on Oct. 16, residents could request and approve any flag to be flown over the city community. It was seen as a public forum.
The rules were changed on October 16 so that only ‘governmental’ flags were allowed to fly.
Instead of enforcing the new rule, the select board granted Khayal’s request.
While making its decision, the company said it had threatened “legal proceedings,” although it is unclear who had threatened the lawsuit.
The select board did not respond to DailyMail.com’s questions.
Brian Buzby said he supported the request to fly the Palestinian flag over the town of North Andover